The Contact
by Ax
Summary: When Cassie goes to save Jake, Marco, Tobias, and Ax, a Sario Rip is accidently opened, sending her back to the day of the last battle with the Yeerks. Now she must face people from her past, save the other Animorphs, and make it back to Earth. R/R!!!
1. Cassie

Disclaimer: I wish I owned the Animorphs, but I don't, do I? KAA owns them. 

#55- The Contact 

Chapter 1 

My name is Cassie. Starting when I was thirteen, I fought the Yeerks with my five friends, Rachel, Jake, Tobias, Marco, and Aximili-Egsarrouth-Isthill. You can call him Ax. The Yeerks are a parasitic species that comes and squeezes itself into your head, and takes complete control of your body. Of course, if you do not know who and what the Yeerks are by now, you have been away from civilization for way too long. Anyway, for three years, the six of us stood up to the Yeerk empire. The six of us being Rachel, my best friend forever, who was beautiful enough to be a model, and the only one of us who liked the war; Jake, Rachel's cousin, the leader of the Animorphs, and, I guess, my boyfriend.  There was also Marco, Jake's best bud and the class clown, who unwillingly fought until he learned that his mother was host body to Visser One; Tobias, who used to be a bully magnet, but he was not anymore now that he was stuck in morph as a red-tailed hawk, and he was also Rachel's boyfriend; and Ax, an Andalite stranded on earth, Tobias' uncle and _shorm_, who lived in the shadow of his brother Elfangor. We only had one weapon: Morphing technology. We could turn into any animal we touched. A dolphin, a wolf, an ant, a fly, a cockroach, a horse, an osprey. 

But three years ago, we finally defeated them. They are no more. But in the process, Rachel was killed right after killing Jake's brother, and because of that, Jake went into severe depression and we drifted apart. Tobias disappeared into the forest after Rachel died, showing up only once in public to take her ashes. Ax became a prince, but I just learned that he was kidnapped by the Blade Ship, a space ship that held the last few fighting Yeerks. Jake came to me, telling Ax's fate. He told me that they had escaped into _Kelbrid_ space, where Andalites could not go. He was going to rescue them, and he said that I could not go along. He asked where Tobias was, knowing that Tobias would have had contact with me, at least. Then, he left. And I knew I had said good-bye to Jake forever. 

I suddenly fell down, sobbing uncontrollably. Ronnie grabbed my arm, and pulled me back up. "I'll never see him again. Never. Oh, my God, Ronnie, never. Never again. Never!" 

"Cass, what happened? What did he say? What is going on?" Ronnie demanded. 

"I can't tell you. I would, but- no." I paused. "I can't. I have to go. Good-bye, Ronnie. I hope to see you again." I gave him a small peck on the cheek, turned around, and morphed. As I flew off, I heard his voice saying "Cass, where are you going?" Soon I could no longer hear his cries. I flew to the main area where the Hork-Bajir stayed in Yellowstone, and scanned the area for a certain someone. There, I saw her. Nearly seven feet tall, with blades coming out of her forehead, elbows, knees, and tail, Toby is the leader of the Hork-Bajir, and a seer, meaning that her intelligence rivals that of an Andalite, not that of one of her fellow Hork-Bajir, who have the mentality of a two-year-old. 

Toby! I called. Listen. The Blade Ship kidnapped Ax, and went into a part of space the Andalites cannot go into. Jake, Tobias, and Marco are going to rescue him. They wouldn't take me. I have a plan. They're going to need my help, I can feel it. Please, come with me. I circled down and landed, then demorphed. 

"Cassie," Toby said in the guttural voice of a Hork-Bajir. "I cannot leave, my people need me..." 

"Please," I pleaded with her. "Please." 

Toby looked down at me. "Cassie, Jark is not ready for the responsibility yet. I cannot leave." 

"Jark? Who's Jark?" 

"Jark is my son. He is different. He is different like my great-grandfather was different, and like I am different." 

"You mean he's a seer?" I asked incredulously. Suddenly, a young Hork-Bajir boy jumped down in front of me. Even though I have been seeing Hork-Bajir for years now, their appearance still frightens me, especially when its so sudden like that. I could not help but jump. 

"Mother," the little Hork-Bajir said. "I am ready. I have learned and been educated. And we are no longer under the threat of being found by the Yeerks. I can teach the Hork-Bajir the new way, whatever that may be. I will one day find out, and maybe you will be back by then. Mother, I am ready." 

"Jark, you were spying on us!" Toby exclaimed. "I do not doubt that you want to lead, and think you are ready. But Jark, you're only a few years old!" 

"Yes, but Mother, how old were you when you became leader of the free Hork-Bajir colony? How old was Great-Great-Grandfather Dak Hamee when he taught our ancestors how to fight? He was only a tiny bit older than me. You were much younger than me. Besides, Tobias, our liberator, is in need of help. He is the savior of our people, and your namesake! Won't you help him, and the rest of his friends, our friends, the Animorphs?" 

"Jark..." Toby sighed. 

"Toby," I said. "My friends are up there, going after the Blade Ship. It's my deceased best friend's boyfriend, the love of my life, and his best friend up there. Please, you have to help me." 

"Who else will go?" Toby asked. 

"I don't know. I was hoping you could help me decide." 

She shrugged her massive shoulders, a very human gesture.  "Okay then Cassie. Let's go." 


	2. Cassie

Chapter 2

Toby and I ran through the woods, me as a wolf and Toby as herself. We finally decided that we would bring General Doubleday. We soon made it to a nearby town, and for once I was grateful for the popularity that being an Animorph and world hero brought me. When I asked, nearly everybody in the lobby of the hotel we went into jumped at the chance to drive the world famous Cassie and her Hork-Bajir friend to the nearest city with an airport. Eventually, we made it after sitting in a van for hours with a young couple who kept asking me if I had ever really gotten to know a Yeerk, had liked the battles, or knew what it was like to be a giraffe. I sat just nodding and shaking my head, too caught up in my grief caused by the fact that I may fail and never see Jake again, and by my excitement that I may be able to help my friends. Of course, we had no trouble getting plane tickets either; as much as I hate being a household name, it has its perks. However, some people were a bit nervous about having a Hork-Bajir on the plane with them. Toby and I sat in silence, too lost in our own thoughts to talk. After a few short hours, the plain landed on the runway in California, and we got off of the plane. After that, we went to the station where General Doubleday still lived. General Doubleday helped us in the last few battles, first by supplying us with the explosives needed to destroy the Yeerk pool, later by providing a distraction for the six of us as we made our way through the Pool Ship. I was certain that he would help us.

After I identified myself and stated that I needed to talk to the general, security let me through and led Toby and I to his office, although I remembered where it was and could have managed it myself. He had been speaking on the phone, but as soon as I walked in, he hung up and stood.

"Cassie!" He said with a smile. "What brings you to see an old guy like me?"

"Hello," I said much more seriously. "You remember Toby, don't you?"

"Of course, how could I forget?" He replied. "Hello Toby, how are you?"

"I am well, General Doubleday," Toby answered.

"Well, General," I began. "Ax was captured by the Blade Ship."

"Oh, dear," he said. "What can I do to help?"

I continued. "The Yeerks brought him into a galaxy that Andalites cannot go into. There's some treaty, and no Andalites or Andalite ships can enter this part of space. The same goes for the inhabitants of that galaxy, the _Kelbrid_. They cannot come into our galaxy. However, the Andalites informed Jake, and told him that there was a newly captured Yeerk ship whose fuel tanks were full in orbit above earth. You see, they couldn't ask Jake to go save Ax, but if Jake just so 'happened' to hear that his friend was in trouble and stole a spaceship to go save him, well, that's his problem, and the Andalites come out with clean hands. Jake brought Marco, Tobias, and possibly some other people to go save Ax. He did not bring me. He just came to ask me where Tobias was. He thought I would know, and he was right. And, after he left, I just had this horrible feeling… I don't know. I felt that I would never see him again. Ever. I have to do something. I am going after him. Toby here will come too. General Doubleday, please. Can you come?"

"Cassie, I am at your service. The people you are going to help are my friends and the people that saved earth, and possibly the entire galaxy, or even the universe from the Yeerk plague. There is no way I could ever repay that debt I owe to the Animorphs because of that, but I can start by helping you. Just tell me what to do."

"Great!" I smiled, the first time since I had talked to Jake. "We will be gone for a long time, possibly forever, you do realize that, don't you?"

"Yes." He said seriously. "Yes, I do understand that. I also know that it is for a more than worthy cause. Just give me a few hours to make some phone calls so things run smoothly while we're gone."

"Thank you."

Only three hours later, we were off. We headed to the military base where Jake had learned about Ax.


	3. Cassie

Chapter 3 

We traveled to the U.S. customs building for Andalite tourists as fast as we could. Once there, we went into the cafeteria, where Andalite ship captains tended to congregate before heading back to the home world. The site of a Hork-Bajir made heads turn; for the most part, they stayed in Yellowstone. I looked around, and saw a shapechanging mess, from which formed an Andalite. I went to go talk to him, and General Doubleday and Toby followed. The Andalite looked at me as I approached.

"Hello," I said. "My name is Cassie, and these are my friends, General Doubleday and Toby."

I am Yahal-Corass-Jahar. Well met, Cassie.

"Nice to meet you. What are you doing on earth? Are you a tourist here to try our cinnamon buns, or a pilot, or on a mission of some other sorts?"

I am a pilot, I fly the Andalite tourists here for their vacations. I just dropped off the latest passengers on my ship, the _Jahar II_. My ship was named after my father's beautiful ship, which was sucked into a black hole and destroyed twenty-five earth years ago. Unfortunately, my father did not go down with his ship.

I was quite taken aback by his statement. I sensed that he loved his father from the way that he talked about him, and because he told me that his ship was named after that of his father's. However, I was confused by his last statement. "Unfortunately? What do you mean? Did you want your father to die?" I demanded of him.

No! He answered back, sounding rather defensive. No. I love my father. It is just that, well, my father, at that time, was the new host body for who was then Visser Thirty-Two. My father is Alloran-Semitur-Corass.

"What? What did you say?" I asked with more than a note of surprise in my voice. "Your father was the host body to Visser One?"

Yes. He was. But now, he is free. Finally, free.

"I know..." I started to say, but I drifted off, not believing what I was hearing. Yahal was Alloran's son? I pitied him, I really did. His father was dishonored after releasing a quantum virus onto the Hork-Bajir homeworld in order to keep the Yeerks from enslaving them all. After he was infested, Alloran became known as the Abomination, and his name became a curse among the Andalites. This Andalite must have suffered horrible teasing and the such as a small child. He would have been an outcast. I started to speak again. "I know that he is free. I was there when the Yeerk left him."

You? You're Cassie the Animorph? I had no idea, I am so sorry, he said, flustered, as he bowed. My father always speaks fondly of you and your friends, and of how you kept the Yeerks at bay for so long, and of how you freed him. I am sorry. I did not give you the respect that you deserve.

I started to blush. "Yahal, we did what we had to. I am not proud of what I did, I just know that we tried to do right. We never even expected to win. And when the Andalite main forces never arrived... We thought that we were finished. We just tried our best, and everything worked out. Well, almost everything." My eyes started to tear, as I thought of Rachel, Tom, Jara Hamee, James, the other auxiliary Animorphs, and the horrible depression Tobias and Jake were still in. "We did what we had to."

And I thank you for it, Cassie. Without you, my father would still be a prisoner in his own mind.

I ran through the plan in my head. We needed a willing pilot, preferably an Andalite. Yahal sounded as though he was greatful enough to help us. But would it be okay? I did not know. I did not want to exploit Yahal's thankfulness, but it would not be the first time I used somebody's weak point. And that was not something that I was proud of. "Yahal," I started. "I need your help." 


	4. Cassie

Body

Chapter 4 

I didn't know how I expected him to react, but definitely not the way he did. After I explained the plan to him, he laughed, and said that he had wanted to learn about the Kelbrid for a long time. He said he was reckless, and did not even care if he went to Kelbrid space in his own Andalite body with his own Andalite ship. I could not believe our good fortune. He claimed that if a Kelbrid ever asked if he was an Andalite, he could just claim that he was not, since they have no direct knowledge, or he could morph to human until they left. I smiled, feeling more optimistic than I had in the past twenty-four hours, when Jake left. Together, General Doubleday, Yahal-Corass-Jahar, Toby, and I walked towards the docking area. Before coming to the Customs building, Toby, the General, and I had stocked up on enough food and bark to last years. We had no idea how long we would be gone for. Then I realized it. I never said good-bye to my parents. My parents, who put up with me even as I started to act so funny during my secret life as an Animorph. My parents, who helped us overcome obstacles when we took them to become refugees at the free Hork-Bajir camp. My parents, who loved animals as much as I did. My parents, who loved me. My parents, whom I loved. "Oh, my God." I said. "I'll be right back." With my three allies staring after me, I ran back to the main area. I went to one of the security guards, and asked where I could find a phone. He pointed me in the right direction, and I ran as fast as I could. I punched in the number, and heard the phone ringing. 

Ringing. 

"Please, pick up," I muttered to myself. "Where are you?" The answering machine came on. "Hi Mom, Dad." I started to leave a message, and realized that tears were starting to drip out of my eyes. Why didn't I think of this before? I could have gone to see them when we were talking to General Doubleday. "It's me. I just want to say I love you, and-" My voice cracked. I was really starting to sob now. "And goodbye. I'll miss you." 

"Hello?" It was my mom's voice! She must have just walked in, or been asleep, or something. 

"Mom? Where's Dad?" I felt so relieved. I would get to say goodbye, after all. 

"Honey? What's going on? He's outside..." 

"Go get him. Please. I need to tell you something." I heard her put the phone down, and the door slam. A minute later, I heard them both, they had each picked up a different phone. 

"Cassie? What happened?" They asked simultaneously. 

I started to speak. "I love you both, and I will miss you. I probably won't see you for a long time. Maybe never again. I'm going out into space. Ax was captured by the Blade Ship, and I have to go. I'm leaving in just a few minutes. You can't tell anyone about Ax. It's top secret. I love you guys." 

"Cassie!" My father exclaimed. "You can't..." 

"I have to. Jake is up there, Dad. He's in trouble. I will need to help them all. I will miss you." I sniffed. 

"Cassie, we love you," my mother said. "We will miss you to. And you will come back. We know you will. Look us up when you come back, alright?" She sounded sad. I didn't blame her. Her only child was leaving forever maybe, and only giving a few minutes notice. On the phone, not even in person. 

"Alright. I will. I love you. Goodbye." My voice cracked again. 

"Bye," My parents said. "We love you." 

I hung up. Slowly, with my head held low, I walked back to the docking area. General Doubleday walked to where I was standing. 

"Cassie, where did you go? What happened?" 

"I called my parents... I had to say goodbye." 

His worried expression deepened. "Cassie, I'm sorry..." 

"I know." There was an awkward pause. I tried to force my face into a smile. "Well, let's go then, shall we?" He looked at me a moment more, then turned around and walked back to the _Jahar II_. I followed. 

Yahal told the security officers that he was bringing us on his ship as passengers, and eventually we were let through. Yahal showed us where storage was, and helped us pack our belongings and food. Then, he showed us our quarters, the bridge, and the other areas of the ship. Too soon, it was time to lift off. We all stood on the bridge, and watched as Yahal brought us off the ground. I saw the earth, the only home I had ever known, drop away until it was just a big blue ball floating in the blackness of space. I have been in space and on other planets before, but the loneliness and beauty of it always touches me. Now, I was afraid as well; I was more afraid than ever before when in space. This time, I knew that it was very likely I would never return to earth, and even if I died, my remains would not make it back. I looked one last time at the blue seas, brown and green land, and white clouds. I looked at California, my home, and remembered all that had happened there. My life was centralized around that state. And now, I probably would never see it again. I turned around and walked to my cabin. It had been made for an Andalite, so there was not much in the way of a bed, but there was a part of the floor that was padded. I lied down there, and started to drift off to sleep. 

_Jake was dead. I had seen him fall over the side with the Howler. My life was over. How could we, how could I live without Jake there beside me? I cried. Suddenly, I heard Ax's thoughtspeak._

_Prince Jake!_

_I looked up, and couldn't believe my eyes. Jake was coming towards us. I stood up, and started running towards him, and he ran towards me, and when he got close enough, I jumped into his waiting arms, and he kissed me. Before I knew what was happening, I kissed him back, and felt like my heart was going to explode. _

_In the background, I heard Rachel grumble. "It's about time," she said.  
I just smiled, and kissed Jake some more._

_Suddenly, the entire lego land city shook, and Jake and I fell over. The ground shook. I saw Rachel fall over the edge, her arms flailing, her screaming, and Tobias going after her. I saw-_

__

__I woke up to a sound that sounded like billions of cannons firing at once into my ear. I ran to the bridge, and saw a fire near the feul tanks go out suddenly; fire can't burn without air. 

"What happened?" I screamed. "What is going on?" Yahal was feverishly working the controls, and I saw earth hurtling closer and closer. I screamed. 

"A meteor hit us, and the feul tanks exploded! We're going to crash!" Toby yelled back to me. I felt a sharp thud onto the back of my head, and the last thing I saw before blacking out was a humongous space ship lowering down onto earth. 


	5. Rachel

Chapter 5

            Jake told me what to do.  We both knew what we refused to say aloud.  I was going to die.  I was going to die, right after killing my cousin, the person Jake had been trying to save from the start.  I was scared.  My mom, my sisters, Jake, Cassie, Marco, Ax, and Tobias all think that I'm some sort of lover of war.  I did get a thrill from it, but I did not love it like they thought I did  Maybe they were right, and I was addicted to it, but I felt sorry for the people I killed.  I was not beyond human emotion.  I knew that.  I could still feel.  Love is an emotion, and what else was there to describe what I felt for Tobias?  I understood why Jake sent me.  I knew that I was the only one who could do it.  I did not blame him.  Still, that did not change the fact that I was scared and wanted to live.  I morphed bald eagle, and started to fly away.  I already missed every one.  I knew I would never see them again in person.  I would never see Tobias again in person.  They would not know where I was until it was too late.  If Marco were here, he would make some stupid joke about me not being able to be afraid, after all, I was Xena: Warrior Princess.  But he was not there.  I was alone.  I soared up into the air, looking one last time at the area I had called home all my life.  The area I would never see again.  Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a ball of fire fall from the sky and crash into the woods nearby.  I swerved.  I did not have very much time left on earth, so I decided that I might as well go investigate.  I wanted to spend my last few hours happy.

            The fiery ball had landed a few miles away, so I flew over to where I last saw it before it dipped below the treetops.  After I found the point where it hit the tops of the trees, it was easy to find; saplings and branches had been broken and twisted as the thing descended.  I saw a slight amount of movement behind a screen of leaves, and tried to move in for a closer look.  I landed on a branch nearby, trying to look like an ordinary eagle.  It was getting slightly dark, so my eyesight was not what it would have been during the day.  I could not see very well, and the leaves in between the thing and me were not helping any.  I looked a bit closer, and thought I could make out three figures dragging a third out.  One looked like a small, seven-foot tall dinosaur, another looked like a centaur, and the last two looked like humans.  It was one of the humans that was being dragged out.  I realized what I was looking at.  It was an Andalite, a Hork-Bajir, and a couple of humans.  For a moment I thought it might be Visser One with his cronies, but I took a second look and realized that it was a different Andalite.  Oh, my God, I thought, as I looked one more time.  That girl on the ground looked kind of like Cassie, but... not.  It looked like an older version of Cassie.  And I realized I knew that Hork-Bajir from somewhere, I just couldn't place it.  And was that General Doubleday?  What was he doing here, when he should be getting ready to provide the distraction?  I heard snatches of their conversation.

            "She was knocked...after we were...by the meteor.  Why does everything...weird?"

            The Hork-Bajir answered the human.  "I don't know.  Yahal...you think?"

            I watched them listening to the Andalites private thoughtspeak.  I was concerned.  I decided to venture forward and try talking to the Cassie look-alike.

            Cassie?  That's you, isn't it?

            The girl fluttered her eyes, and then sat up.  Her face showed a look of pure horror, and she screamed.

            I tried again.  Cassie, it's me.  It's Rachel.

            She started to look around desperately, and finally her eyes locked onto mine.  "Rachel?"  She asked.  "Is that eagle you?  How... What are you doing here?  Where are you going?  How are you here?"

            The Hork-Bajir kneeled as well as she could, and spoke to Cassie.  "Cassie, you were hit in the head when we crashed.  You're hallucinating.  Calm down."

            "No, no, I'm not.  Rachel, talk to them.  Talk to all of them! Prove to them that you're alive!"

            I had no idea what she was talking about, but something in the intensity of her voice told me that something was going on.  Confused, I flew down to the burning wreckage of the space ship, as they were saying it was, and spoke.

            Hello, Cassie, General Doubleday, I paused.  I looked again at the two aliens, and made a startling discovery.  The familiar-looking Hork-Bajir was Toby!  Toby, Mr. Andalite.  Cassie, why are you, and Toby, and the General staring at me?

            The Andalite started to speak.  Cassie, I believe a _Sario Rip_ was opened when we crashed into the meteor.  My time sense is still adjusting.

            _Sario Rip_?  That sounds familiar... Where have I heard it before?  I wondered.  Then, I watched Cassie turn pale.

            "A Sa_rio Rip_... That's the rip in the time-space continuum, right?  Do you mean that we went back in time?"  She demanded of the Andalite.

            Yes.  The only way to get back to our own time is to recreate the explosion that sent us here.  Do you know when we are?  Do you know this thing?

            I simply stared at them.  I slowly demorphed.  My mouth dropped open.  "Wait," I said.  "Are you saying that you are Cassie, Toby, General Doubleday, and an Andalite from the future?"

            The Andalite turned all four eyes on me.  You are a human, not a bird?

            I nodded.  "Yes, I am a human.  I have the Andalite morphing technology, given to me by Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul.  Now, yes or no, you are from the future?"

            Cassie stepped forward.  "Yes Rachel.  We are from the future.  We don't know how long though.  Where are you going right now?"

            I looked at her.  She was a bit older, and she still had not gotten a clue about clothing.  I could not help but smile.  She seemed sadder though.  And the way she was staring at me, it just plain scared me.  I looked away, unable to absorb it all.  "Cassie, I am on my way to the Blade Ship.  Do you know what happened?  Jake wants me to go and kill Tom."  I looked at her again.  "By the way, what's the Andalite's name?"

            A ghost of a smile flitted across her face.  The way she looked at me was so weird.  It unnerved me.  "His name is Yahal-Corass-Jahar."  She paused, her face conflicted, her eyes on me the entire time, looking as though she had seen a ghost.  "So that's what that gargantuan space ship coming down to earth was.  It was the Pool Ship.  Yes, I remember.  I know what happened.  We beat the Yeerks.  Alloran was freed.  Visser One went on trial, and is imprisoned for three hundred years.  Everybody knows about the Yeerks, about us.  Andalite tourism is quite popular.  Yahal is a pilot for one of the tourist transports.  A select few people from militaries all over the world have the morphing power, in exchange for a Krispy Kreme franchise on the Andalite home world.  Ax became a prince.  Jake went into a deep depression, because you were successful in killing Tom, and he condemned seventeen thousand unhosted Yeerks to death.  Also, because- never mind.  Tobias disappeared for two years, living as a hawk.  It was because of, um... He only appeared in public once, a few days after the Yeerks were defeated.  The Blade Ship got away, and Ax was kidnapped.  Jake, Tobias, and Marco left to go save him, because the Yeerks went to a galaxy the Andalites are not allowed into, there is some treaty... Jake made me stay on earth.  I went after them, and on our way out of the solar system, we hit a meteor... Now we're here."

            I looked at her.  "What happened to me Cassie?  Where do I fit in?"

            She looked away.

            "You're purposely avoiding the subject, Cassie.  I know you too well."

            She looked back at me, her face conflicted and tortured.  Her eyes were hollow and dark.  "The third reason Jake is so depressed... The reason why Tobias disappeared... Tobias only appeared to the public once, to take something.  You died, Rachel, he came to take your ashes."  A tear rolled out of her eye.


	6. Rachel

Chapter 6

            I felt my heart skip a beat.  I knew that it was likely that I would die, but to have my fate sealed like this?  To know for certain that I was going to my death, and the Blade Ship would escape despite my sacrifice?  I fell backwards onto my butt, and sat in shock.  I was going to die in less than twenty-four hours.  I reminisced on my life.  Memories, so many memories.  I rocked back and forth as I thought.

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*_

_            "Daddy, why is Mommy crying?  Why is she screaming?"  I asked my father.  He looked excited.  I was glanced at Jordan, to make sure she hadn't stolen my cookies._

_            "Well Rachel, you know that Mommy has been expecting a baby for a long time now, right?"_

_            I nodded._

_            "Well, she's going to have that little baby in just a bit.  We have to go to the hospital."_

_            I smiled, and got in the car.  Only seven hours later, the doctors let me into the room to see the new baby.  Mom handed it to me, and made sure I didn't drop it._

_            "This is Sara," she said.  "She's your new little sister.  You will take good care of her, won't you?"_

_            I grinned at my mom, and said yes.  Then, I sat down to look at my new little sister some more._

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*_

_            I sat in the lobby of the courthouse, waiting for my parents to come out.  Daddy walked out, and hugged me.  "Why do you have to do this?"  I asked him.  "Why are you and Mommy getting a divorce?"_

_            He shrugged.  "We just don't love each other anymore.  We fight so much.  It's better this way."_

_            "Daddy, is it because of me?"_

_            "No, Honey.  Of course not.  It's just because of your mother and I."_

_            "Will I still see you?  What's going to happen to me?"_

_            "Yeah.  We'll still see each other.  Don't worry.  It will all be okay."_

_            I started to cry, and buried my face into his shoulder in a hug.  "I love you, Daddy."_

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*_

_            "You going to be okay without me here to take care of you?" he asked._

_            "I can take care of myself," I said, wiping away the tears._

_            We took the elevator down to a taxi that was waiting._

_            "Come with me to the airport.  I'll send you home in the cab."_

_            I shook my head.  "No, I have stuff to do."_

_            He smiled.  "I understand.  You probably have something very important to do with your friends."  It was a joke._

_            "Absolutely," I said.  "We have to save the world."_

_            My dad laughed.  "If anyone can do it, honey, it would be you."_

_            Then the taxi drove off._

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*_

_            I walked towards him, and Tobias ran.  I smiled.  He wrapped his arms around me, and put his face into my hair.  I hugged him back._

_            "Bad," I said._

_            "Yeah," he whispered.  "Real bad.  I came close to, you know.  Awfully close.  I was so... I mean, I didn't..."  He paused, and took a couple of deep breaths.  "I lost myself.  Didn't know who I was.  Not sure I do now."_

_            "Tobias," I said, quietly, but forcefully.  "I know who you are."_

_            There was a long silence, when he didn't move.  Neither did I.  _

_            Then, I said, "Hey, it's nice and warm.  Bet there are some killer thermals."_

_            He smiled at me.  "Let's fly."_

_            "Yeah," I said, "Right after I do this."_

_            I kissed him._

_            "Okay, now let's fly," I said, and laughed for the sheer joy of life._

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*_

            Although I was not paying very much attention to my surroundings, I heard the sudden excitement in Cassie's tone.  I started to listen a bit more closely.

"Yahal," she said, "Is it possible to bring things from the other time back through a _Sario Rip_?  Could Rachel come back with us?"

            My head snapped up, and Yahal's stalk eyes slowly came around to look at Cassie.  I heard his open thoughtspeak.

            It has never been tried before.  I do not know.  _Sario Rips_ are very rare and have only happened a few times.  We have never been able to test if matter can be brought back through.

            I remembered something.  "Cassie, when we tried to rescue that nuclear sub, and the explosion sent us back to the Cretaceous Period, we couldn't morph the Big Rex or Dynonychus."  I turned to Yahal.  "We went through a Sario Rip once before.  We acquired some animals from the time period, which are now extinct.  When we tried morphing them, we found that we could not.  Why is that?"

            Yahal gazed at me steadily.  It is a known fact that once a species dies out, it is no longer possible to morph that animal.  Even if you could bring new matter back with you through the _Sario Rip_, you would not have been able to morph these animals you speak of.

            "It may be possible then.  But what about the timeline?  I need to be here for you to come later, maybe.  What do we do?  I cannot leave if it will ruin the timeline."

            "I think it is time that we once again call upon the Chee, Rachel."

            I laughed.  Maybe I would live, after all.  "Alright," I said, realizing what Cassie was thinking.  "Let's see their Rachel impression."


	7. Cassie

Chapter 7  
  
Rachel left us to get into position. If the Chee would not help us, though I thought they would, she still needed to be able to continue the timeline and kill Tom. I did not tell the General or Yahal what we meant by the Chee. The Chee were a race of sentient androids created thousands of years ago by a race so advanced they had forgotten about war. The Chee are hardwired for nonviolence, and because of that, when another alien race came to destroy their creators, they could not save them. The Chee escaped to earth, where they have been hiding since the building of the pyramids. When they came, they infused the essence of the Pemalites, their creators, into wolves, and dogs were formed from that union. Rachel, Ax, Tobias, Jake, Marco, and I were the only humans who know about the Chee, although Toby also knew about them. They have helped us more times than I can count, as well as helping the Hork-Bajir. However, three years ago - that is, today - Jake kidnapped Erek, one of the Chee, and forced him to help us with creating holograms and other things by threatening to order a slaughter if he did not help us. Afterwards, I wanted to apologize, but I knew it was impossible. We used him, and abused his programming. None of this had happened yet in this time. And now, we had to ask of their help again.   
I flew toward the wrecked city. I had to stay low. I knew that my other self from the past was nearby, and Marco from the past was looking for the Chee just like I was. I thought. I looked down, and saw his familiar features ducking between the ruins of our hometown. I landed behind some still-standing, ruined, burnt-out buildings, and morphed fly. I thought, as I realized that the only thing of any interest to my fly brain was the various body odors oozing out of Marco's pores. I zipped over to where he was, did a flip in midair, and zoomed into his sleeve. There, I landed on the rough fabric of his t-shirt. I waited. After about an hour, I felt the air growing colder, and a breeze pushing me upwards. I realized that we were going down. I thought, but I must have said it aloud, because Marco said "What?" I was quiet after that, and I guess he decided he was hearing things. When I felt his stop, I flew out from his sleeve, and went to a closed off area. Then, I demorphed, and remorphed into wolf. I hoped that if I slunk low to the ground, I would appear to just be a large, shaggy dog. I milled around, playing with the other dogs, all the while watching to see when Marco left. As soon as he did, I demorphed, and walked up to an android.  
"Excuse me, but where is Mr. King?" I asked. It is nearly impossible to distinguish between the androids in their normal state, as they were now. The Chee turned around, and told me where I could find him. I walked off in that direction, and eventually bumped into him.   
"Mr. King," I said. "I have a favor to ask of you and another Chee."  
He fixed his chrome, doglike face on me. "Cassie? What are you doing here? What do you want from me?" His voice sounded hostile, although I knew he could not hurt me. "Marco just took Erek, for no good, I presume."  
I looked down. I knew that they would be angry, but I did not expect this. How could I ask for help? "You're not going to believe this, but I am Cassie from three years in the future," I said, and took a deep breath. "I was trying to leave the solar system in a space ship, and it was hit by a meteor. It opened a rip in the time-space continuum, and I ended up here. I know what is going to happen today. I know that today, my best friend is going to die, after killing her cousin. I know that the deaths of those two people will send my true love into clinical depression. I know that the death of Rachel will cause Tobias to disappear for two years. I know that today will ruin the lives of my closest friends."  
He continued to stare at me.  
"I figured out a way to save them though. Doing so, however, will screw up the timeline, and I do not know what will happen then. I do not want to know what would happen if the timeline was ruined. But if you and another Chee were to project holograms of Rachel and Tom, and say the things exactly how I tell you to, we can save them without changing the timeline. Please, can you help me?" I looked at him, pleading.  
"You know I have to," he said. "My programming will force me to. It saves lives." His hologram of a middle-aged human flickered back on. His projected face had a frown. "I'll go get Lourdes."  
He turned around and left, but returned a few moments later with a Chee which looked like an elderly bag lady. "Alright, Cassie, what is the scene we need to play out?"  
I looked at both of them, waiting for my command. I suddenly felt all the pressure Jake must have felt all these years. I closed my eyes and opened them again. With that, I told them every little action, every word I could remember that Rachel and Tom said in their final moments, knowing that they would remember all that I said, being androids. After I finished, I looked at them hopefully, pleadingly, as I asked if they could do it. Yes, they answered. Yes. I only needed to get the real Rachel and the real Tom out of the way. 


	8. Rachel

Chapter 8  
  
I heard Cassie's thoughtspeak.   
I answered her, and then jumped off of Tom's head. I had been a flea in his hair. I kept jumping, until I sensed it was dark, and hoped it was safe. I demorphed, and crouched low. Outlined against the sky, I could see an owl, Cassie in morph. I looked at my surroundings, and saw that I was under a table. Luckily, it was getting dark, and people could not see me very well. Cassie went into a steep dive and flared her wings just feet from the ground, and came in under the table with me. She demorphed.  
"Ready?" She whispered.  
"You bet," I answered, and laughed, trying to keep from being heard. "Let's morph."  
I started to change into grizzly bear. I watched her change into a chimpanzee. We needed strong hands for this job. It would have been Marco in his gorilla morph, but he was not here. He getting ready to go on the Pool Ship. By now, they would have realized I was gone. I wanted to cry, thinking of what Tobias was going to go through for the next three years. I wished I could help him through it. I knew I could not, however, because that would change the timeline, and that could not happen. We already were changing it by saving me, I knew, but no one but the Chee, Cassie, Toby, General Doubleday, and Yahal would know for three years. Even then, it would still be kept quiet. I looked out. The coast was clear. Only Tom stood in the area, doing something.  
It was quite cramped under the table, so slowly, quietly, I crept out. Cassie slunk out behind me. We both moved toward Tom as silently as we could, but it just is not easy for a bear and a chimp to stay inaudible. At the last moment, Cassie leaped forward, hooting quietly, but powerfully. Before he could react, I came up behind him and gave him a love tap that knocked him unconscious. I started shifting his position so he would be easier to pick up.  
I heard Cassie say. Suddenly, another Tom appeared in front of us, and started to walk to the car where Erek's hologram of Cassie lay. I whispered. The new Tom, really a hologram projected by Lourdes and Mr. King, turned back, and saluted us. Then, he turned forward again, and faded into the darkness.  
I looked at Cassie. Tom moaned. Cassie and I moved together to pick him up, and we quickly lumbered away from the destruction of our city. It was difficult, because we had to stay out of the sight of the Bug Fighters. We were just reaching the outskirts when Tom opened his eyes.  
I said, as I hit him over the head again. The next time he woke up, he was tied up in a sealed compartment in the Jahar II. 


	9. Rachel

Chapter 9

            While Cassie talked to the Chee and we kidnapped Tom, Yahal had been working on fixing the ship.  Miraculously, the _Jahar II _had not been harmed too badly, and he repaired it easily.  When we came back holding an unconscious Tom, we tied him up and locked him into an empty storeroom.  Yahal made a few last minute adjustments, and we were off.  I knew that I was not off the hook yet.  I may have cheated death for now, but we did not know if I could be dragged back through the strands of space-time.  I could be left as soon as they left this time, out in the cold vacuum of space.  I might just disappear from existence, lost in time and space, like I never did exist.  My matter simply erased.  I could be returned to where I should be in this timeline, dead, floating in space.  I was scared, again.  Marco was wrong.  I was not fearless.  I had plenty of fear.  And they were all wrong in thinking I loved the killing.  I did not.  I do not.  In that time when I thought that I was going to die in the Blade Ship, I realized it.  Why enjoy taking life when all that matters is life and love?  I thought once again of Tobias, and how he would mourn.  As I mourn for him, for the time he spent grieving for me, and how his soul must have been torn apart.  

            The ship is fixed, Yahal's thoughtspeak echoed throughout the ship.  If everyone is ready, we will take off, and ram ourselves into another meteor in order to cause another explosion and close the _Sario Rip_.

            I took a deep breath.  I wanted to live.  I wanted to see Tobias again.  I wanted Jake to be happy.  And, if I could, I wanted to come back home and see my family.  I have not seen Daddy since before we took up residence in the free Hork-Bajir camp.  I walked into the bridge.  Cassie, General Doubleday, Toby, and Yahal were already waiting there.

            "Alright," I said, "Let's do it!"

Cassie smiled.  "As Marco would say, 'Great.  Now we're all going to die!'"

I laughed.  "I hate to say it, but I miss the little shrimp already."

We are lifting off,  Yahal said.

"Shall we go check on Tom?"  I asked of Cassie.

"Yes, why don't we?"  She answered.  We turned, and left the General, Toby, and Yahal standing there looking at the controls.  

I turned to Cassie outside his room.  "We should look inside the room to make sure he has not morphed something dangerous," I told Cassie.  "We do not want to be caught unprepared."

"His fighting morph is a cobra," Cassie said.  "That's what he morphed two years ago on the Blade Ship."

"Is that what killed me?"  I asked.

"No."  I saw a tear glinting in the corner of her eye.  I realized how hard it must have been for her, for all of them.  For Tobias.  "He morphed cobra, and bit you in your grizzly bear morph.  You bit him in half, and demorphed to human.  He died, but you demorphed in time to save yourself.  It was another Yeerk as a polar bear that killed you.  One clean blow to the head."  She looked away, and I saw her breathing heavily.  "You nearly killed the polar bear, but it demorphed in time as well.  Then it killed you.  Before you died, you turned to the screen and saw Tobias in human morph.  You told him you loved him.  Then, the polar bear killed you."

I could see the scene clearly in my mind.  I saw how every little detail would have been.  I saw myself as I died.  I saw Tobias.  Suddenly, I was angry.  Not at anyone in particular, just in general.  Who or what caused such horrible things to happen?  It just was not fair.  I could not help but smile though; I cheated that power out of my death.  Poor Tobias and Jake did not know that though; they would still suffer through three long years.  "Alright," I said to Cassie.  "Make the door transparent.  Let's talk to the Yeerk.  Let him know what is happening."

"Computer, make the door transparent," commanded Cassie.  I could suddenly see into the room quite easily.  And, as I suspected, Tom was laying coiled in a pile near the door.  He had morphed cobra.  "We should morph something that can fly and keep out of his way," Cassie said. "Seagulls, I think."

I nodded, and started my change.  I fell towards the ground, as my skin turned white and feather patterns etched across it.  I felt my lips harden and push out to become the beak of a bird.  My nostrils migrated down onto it.  My eyes grew round and moved to the sides of my head.  My fingers stretched out, and then twisted down as skin grew between them and they became covered with feathers.  My toes melted together to become the feet of a bird, and my legs grew rough and pebbly.  Then, the seagull brain surfaced in my own, and I started looking around for scraps of food.  The seagull never missed anything that could even be considered food.

Ready? I asked Cassie.

Yep, she answered, and then said, Computer, create a force field on the bottom half of the door, and open it.

There was a small shimmer in the air, and then it looked the same.  We flapped and ran, and eventually made it up off the ground.  I hate flying indoors… I grumbled.  Quickly, we zipped through the upper part of the door, and I guess I went a bit too low, because I felt my breastbone scrape over the force field.  It was work, but we managed to stay circling around the ceiling of the room.  The Yeerk, realizing that he would not be able to poison us, was demorphing.  Computer, close the door, I said.  Now he could not get out.  Hello, Tom, I said to him.  Just warning you, we may be experiencing a small amount of turbulence in just a moment, so fasten your seatbelt, I told him, remembering that we would be trying to close the _Sario Rip_ in just a moment by ramming into another meteor and exploding the fuel tanks. 

"Where am I?" he demanded, his face angry.

My wings were starting to tire.  Look, Yeerk, you are on a spaceship right now, bound for _Kelbrid_ space.  His eyes stared at me blankly.  However, what we are waiting for will not happen for another three years, and the reason we kidnapped you is to save Tom's life.  If we had not kidnapped you, I would be dead, just a few seconds after I killed you.  How do I know this?  Cassie here is from the future.  I will let her explain.

"Cassie from the future, psh!  What are you trying to pull, Rachel?  You know that I know that you two have been friends ever since you were young.  She looks just the same as always."

Oh?  Tom, and Yeerk in your head, Cassie started.  What happens in the next three years is that you die.  Both of you.  Rachel kills you.  Then, a Yeerk in polar bear morph kills her.  We foil Visser One's plans, and we capture him.  He goes on trial, and is in prison for about three hundred years.  The Blade ship gets away.  Jake goes into severe depression because he knows that he caused the death of you, Rachel, and seventeen thousand unhosted Yeerks.  Tobias disappears from his grief over Rachel's death.  Ax becomes a prince.  The Animorphs become famous.  The Taxxons become _nothlits_ as large snakes, anacondas and such.  The free Hork-Bajir are given Yellowstone.  Ax is captured by the Blade ship on a deep space mission, and brought into _Kelbrid_ space.  The _Kelbrid _are a race from another galaxy that have a treaty with the Andalites, saying that the Andalites cannot come into their galaxy, and the _Kelbrid_ cannot go into Andalite territory.  Because of that, Marco, Tobias, and Jake went to go rescue Ax.  They did not take me.  I decided to follow them, knowing they would need my help.  Her voice broke.  Toby, the Hork-Bajir seer; General Doubleday, the leader of a free army regiment that helped us beat the Pool ship; and Yahal-Corass-Jahar, son of Alloran; came with me.  On our way out of the solar system, we hit a meteor, which caused the fuel tanks to explode, and opened a _Sario Rip_.  That is how I came to be in this time.  I wanted to save my best friend and you, not only for yourselves, but for Tobias and Jake as well.  I had someone play the parts of you and Rachel.  Now, we are attempting to be sent back to my time, and bring you with us.  Then, we will go and try to save Jake.

We don't know if you and I can be taken through the _Sario Rip_.  I said.  We might die, or cease to exist, or something.  You will die, though.  Yeerk, the trip we are going on will last months.  There is no Kandrona aboard this ship.  You will starve.

Tom's face etched into one of horror.  "Kandrona starvation?  No."

Tom, Cassie said, You will be free.  Yeerk, I am sorry.

Then, there was a large crash, the floor shook, and I saw a flash of light outside one of the viewing ports.  I closed my eyes, waiting for the end.


	10. Rachel

Chapter 10

            I heard sounds blaring around me, and I opened my eyes to see Tom sprawled across the ground.  I watched as Cassie fell out of the air, and I followed her.  I felt a sharp pain in my wing, and looked over to see it bent in half; the bone must have broken.  The room stopped spinning, and I demorphed to human.  Cassie did the same.  Tom sat up slowly, and moved his leg in front of him.  It was bent at a weird angle.  I watched as his flesh began to shift forms and colors.  Cassie saw it too.

            "Computer, open the door."  We walked through while Tom was helpless in midmorph, and then Cassie commanded it to close again.  Then, she stared at me.  "Do you think we closed it?  You are still here… Is it even possible?"

            "I don't know.  If we did, well, I don't know.  We discovered something new.  Let's go ask Yahal if you're back, and I'm here for good."

            We walked towards the bridge.  I hoped, wished, that it had been done.  That we had closed the _Sario Rip_.  There was no other way that I could see Tobias again.  That Jake could feel better.  That I could live.  I walked, lost in thought.  How I wanted to see Tobias again.  It had only been about a day since I left, but already, it felt like years.  After what Cassie told me about my own death, I realized how horrible it must have been for everybody.  I knew, that for Tobias' sake, I had to see him again.  I would scare him at first, but it was worth it.  Coming back from the dead is better than being dead, right?  We arrived at the bridge, where Yahal was working hard at making the ship crash land on earth, where we could not hurt anybody and would not be hurt ourselves.  Toby stared worriedly out the window, and General Doubleday nursed a bleeding shoulder.  All had grim expressions.

            "Is… is it closed?" asked Cassie tentatively.

            General Doubleday looked at her.  "We don't know.  Yahal's time sense will not be right until we land on a planet."  His gaze locked on me.  "Rachel, you will still be alive if we did close it.  The world thinks you're dead.  But you aren't, if it's closed."

            I smiled.  "Let's hope that it is closed then, shall we?"  Inwardly, I was as scared as I could be, knowing very well that I may still die, or be erased from existence.

            Earth loomed closer, and I looked out the viewport at it.  I wondered what it was like three years in the future.  Or now, depending on if the _Sario Rip_ was indeed closed or not.  I turned back to Cassie, Toby, and the General.

            The General spoke up.  "Rachel, to everybody but us, you are dead.  This mission is top secret.  You won't be able to reveal yourself until we come back.  If we come back.  You will have to stay in the ship if you don't want to attract attention and reveal what we are doing."

            I sighed.  "I know.  I cannot tell anyone that I am alive.  Yet."

            Impact to earth will occur in approximately thirty earth seconds, said Yahal.

            "Great," I said.  "First Ax, now Yahal.  I guess I will just have to sound like Marco and say it: they are everyone's seconds!"

            Cassie laughed. 

            "Cassie," I said, "As long as we are on earth, you are going to buy some new clothes.  You want to get Jake back?  You are buying some nice jeans.  The ones you are wearing now are better, I mean, they don't have poop all over them, but still, you need something nice.  And a cute shirt.  You are buying one."

            Cassie rolled her eyes, and said "I haven't seen you for two years, because you were dead, and now you are finally back, and you are still ragging on me about my clothes!"

            Then, the ship crashed.  I fell over and bounced as the ship bumped up and down.  I looked out the window and saw that we were on a straight stretch of road.

            "Is everybody alright?" Cassie questioned.  One by one, we all answered yes. 

            "Where are we?" I asked.

            This is an area near where the United States Customs for Alien Visitors building is.  We left from there.  My time sense seems to be working correctly; I think we made it back to our own time.

            "Yes!" I screamed, and then hugged Cassie, the General, Toby, and Yahal one by one.  Yahal was quite perplexed by that motion, and Toby was just careful not to slice me open, but I could not contain my joy.  We would see them again!  I would see Tobias again.  I could not stop grinning.  Cassie came and hugged me again.  

            "We'll go after them," she said, her chin set defiantly.

            "Yes," I agreed, "We certainly will."

            "Rachel!  Morph something small!  Quickly!" came the General's frantic call.  I looked out the viewport, and sure enough, a truck pulling a horse trailer was speeding towards us.  I started my fly morph, and through my compound eyes, I saw two Andalites and three humans step out of the trailer and truck, and come towards the ship.  Yahal opened the hatch, and they walked in.  

            Hello, my name is Gealinar-Shamtul-Koral.  Please state your name, business, and why you landed here instead of in the landing area, said one Andalite.

            I am Yahal-Corass-Jahar, and I was just taking these humans to the Andalite homeworld.  They asked for me to, and I had already dropped off my Andalite passengers, so I saw no point in saying no to their request.  The Hork-Bajir travels with them.  On our way out of the solar system, we were hit by a meteor, and crashed here, answered Yahal.

            One of the humans eyed Cassie.  After a moment, he said, "You're Cassie the Animorph, aren't you?"

            She nodded yes.

            The human and the Andalite turned and discussed us for a moment, then turned back.  The human stepped forward.  "Alright, if you will come with us, we can repair your ship, and you should be able to go on your way within a few hours.

            Great, I said in private thoughtspeak to Cassie. Just enough time to go shopping!

            Before we left, we checked on Tom to make sure he had not been hurt in the crash.  He was fine, and we gave him some food and told him that the _Sario_ _Rip_ had successfully been closed, and we were three years in the future.  By the look on his face, I would have thought he was about to cry.

            "Rachel," Cassie said, "If you are going to make me go to the mall, and you want to come along, which I assume is your plan, you cannot look like that.  Your pictures are in all the history books, and people will recognize you instantly.  I know, could you morph rat?  They have okay eyes, and if you sat in my pocket, well, no one really cares what I do, I'm Cassie the Animorph.  If they see you, they will just write it off, and will not care."

            "Alright," I said agreeably, and started the change.  

I know it was torture to poor Cassie, but three hours later we walked away from the mall holding three new pairs of nice jeans, a cute camouflage halter top, an orange tank top with Japanese writing and monkeys on it, and a white t-shirt with a rose.  Knowing she could not argue, Cassie had just sighed and pulled out her credit card.  

"Now can we go to Jake and Tobias and Marco?" she asked.

Yes, I laughed, Now we can go.


	11. Cassie

Chapter 11

After we took off, things ran smoothly. We were really on the lookout for meteors, and we did not hit any. Toby tended to sit off to herself, quiet, probably thinking of how her son Jark and the rest of the Hork-Bajir were doing. Yahal talked a bit, excited about the prospect of seeing a _Kelbrid_. General Doubleday did his best to make life exciting, and Rachel tried to soak in every single detail of what had happened in the three years she missed. 

The Yeerk in Tom's head made him sit sullenly, knowing that in just a couple more days he would starve. Though I knew that it had tried to kill us many times, and it being in Tom's head was part of what drove Jake to his depression, I still pitied it. I do not want any living creature to die. I spent time with Tom, knowing how horrible the last few days are from Jake's experience. I wanted to help Tom through it. At first, he would morph to try and get out, I do not know what he expected to do; I guess he thought he could take back the ship and make it back to earth. What he thought he could do when he got there is a mystery to me as well; the Yeerks are gone from earth. After two days though, he did not do anything. The lack of Kandrona was starting to affect him. I stayed with them, the Yeerk and Tom, knowing that the last few hours would be the worst. 

I woke up with a start, wakened by a shrill scream coming from no more than ten feet away. I looked over, and saw Tom clawing at his head. I realized I muct have dosed off while sitting with him. I had nearly been three days. In one more hour, Tom would be free, and the Yeerk would be dead. Tom's nails began to scratch his face, neck, and ears bloody. I walked over, and uttered some soothing words, and tried to restrain him, but he had the body of a powerful basketball player, whereas I was just a short, little girl. 

"Help me... Help me... Kandrona! Where is the Kandrona?" pleaded Tom in a hoarse voice. "Must have Kandrona..." 

I studied his face, and felt a twang of pity in my heart. The Yeerk was going to die without any possible chance of life. I forced my face into a smile, for Tom's sake. There was nothing I could do for the Yeerk. "It's all right Tom. Jake went through the same thing. You will make it through. Think of freedom." 

His face twisted in agony, Tom screamed again. He started to writhe on the floor, thrashing and kicking. I felt my face go pale. I did not know what to do to keep him from hurting himself. 

"Calm down, Tom, please calm down!" I heard myself say. Then, I stared in horror as something slimy started to poke out of Tom's ear. It was the Yeerk, coming out of Tom's head. Slowly, it crawled free of his ear canal. As I watched it, it seemed to shrivel up, and then it just disintegrated. Slowly, Tom sat up, and looked around. His mouth worked for a moment, but no sound came out. Then, he tried to stand up. He stumbled, and fell over again. I walked over and helped him up. The Yeerk had been in control for so long that Tom had forgotten how to walk and speak, for the most part. He tried standing again, and this time made it. He took two shaky steps toward me, and hugged me. 

"Thank you," he managed to say, his eyes tearing up, "Thank you so much." 

"Just a second," I said, "I am going to get the others." He sat back down again, and I hurried out of the room. "Rachel, Yahal, Toby, General Doubleday!" I called as I approached the bridge. I ran in and saw them all looking expectantly at me. "The Yeerk in Tom's head is dead. He's free!" The General and Rachel both smiled, Yahal turned all four of his eyes to look at me, and Toby stood straight. 

We should go see him, said Yahal. Together, the five of us walked back to the room where we had been keeping Tom locked up. We neared, and I saw Tom practicing walking in the room. He seemed to be getting the hang of it again. I walked through the door, followed by Rachel, then the General, and finally Yahal and Toby. Tom ran over to us, and hugged everybody one by one. 

"Thank you, thank you," he kept saying. I did not blame him. I knew what Jake had gone through after only three days of captivity, and what it had been like for me in just a few hours of captivity, before I convinced Aftran to stay unhosted forever. However, when she was found out, we eventually gave her the morphing power and watched as she became a whale _nothlit_. I wondered how she was doing, and if she knew that the Yeerk invasion had failed. I looked at Tom again. He had tears streaming down his face. 

"I'm free," he said. "Thank you. I'm free." His face broke into a wide grin. "And you said the Yeerk Empire was crushed, right? So I'll never be infested again, thank God. My parents, did they escape?" He asked, his face becoming serious once again. 

Rachel looked at me, and I took a deep breath. "Yes, Tom, your parents are safe. It was just you and Rachel that died, that you know." 

"How did you do it? They looked for you, you know. They looked so hard." 

Rachel shone with pride. "There were only five of us in the very beginning. We hooked up at the mall, and started to walk home. We ended up walking through the abandoned construction site. As we walked through, we saw a flash of light, and watched as a spaceship fell from the sky. An Andalite walked out. It was Elfangor. He told us about the Yeerks, and then gave us the morphing power. We ran off and hid, and saw Visser Three, later Visser One, come and eat the Andalite. Quickly, we learned that Mr. Chapman was a controller, and so were you. Our first mission brought us down to the Yeerk Pool to try and rescue you. That was where Tobias became stuck as a red-tailed hawk." Her voice faltered for a moment. "It was partially luck, and also because they were convinced that we were Andalites at first, which enabled to hide.  Even Jake was somewhat safe, even with you in the same house. It wasn't very long before we found Ax in the dome of his ship under the ocean though. Time went on, and Marco learned that his mom was Visser One. Later, we found out that a kid had found the blue morphing box, and was selling it on the internet. We made him one of us to save him. He was power-hungry though, and tried to sell us out to Visser Three/One. We ended up having to trap him as a rat." I saw her eyes go dark. "When Marco's dad learned about Zero space, they faked their own deaths in order to go into hiding. We were able to save Marco's mom, and they lived with the free Hork-Bajir. Later, when the Yeerks found the partial match to our DNA, Tobias' mom, we all went into hiding with our families. Except for Jake, because you took your parents and made them controllers." Rachel went on, but Tom's face colored, and he looked down, and wiped his eyes. "Jake is a great strategist, and that was a major reason we won the war. I think you know most everything else. Of course, we had our allies, the free Hork-Bajir, General Doubleday and his troops, the parents, James' people," she said, looking at Toby and General Doubleday, respectively. 

"You were great," he said, his eyes shining. "I always told the different Yeerks in my head that you would beat them. I told them that, and they ignored me, but I told them and it annoyed them. I had two different Yeerks, but one left me about two and a half years ago. I mean, five and a half. This jump forward in time is really messing me up." He smiled. "Thank you, I'm free. Now, let's go rescue the midget, shall we?" 

All six of us laughed out of sheer relief. 


	12. Jake

Chapter 12 

"Full emergency power to the engines," I said. "Ram the Blade Ship." 

We closed the distance between our ship and theirs, all the while the horrible joke of Ax's face grinning at us. It's sarcastic grin did not change until it realized that we were too close to stop. As we zoomed through space, I thought of everybody I was going to see in just a few moments. James and his people. Rachel. Tom. Jara Hamee. Arbron. 

Tom and Rachel. 

I looked over at Marco, and nearly laughed out loud. He knew he was going to die in just a few minutes, but he was using those last few seconds to try and kiss Jeanne. I thought of Cassie. One day, I would see her again too. I still loved her, but she had moved on, and I had not. We could not be together. God, I missed her. Her smile, the way she made everything seem all right, her morals, the way she took care of all of us. I hoped she was happy. I really did. She would probably marry that Ronnie guy. Maybe they would have kids. I did not know. I was not sure I wanted to. I proposed to her two years ago, and she told me to wait one year. She was not sure what the war would do to me. It had been over two years now. I could not wait to see her again, as I knew I would, after she died as well. Would she still care for me? I sincerely hoped so. I looked again at the Blade Ship, and at the One, whatever it was. We were getting closer. 

"Cassie," I said to myself, "I love you." 

I looked at Tobias. He was morphing human, I guess he wanted to die as what his mind was. Hopefully our death would not be in vain. Hopefully, we would take the Blade Ship out with us. Take out that abomination that called itself the One. 

I realized that my parents would never know what happened. They were about to lose their other son without being able to say goodbye.  I would see them again too though, just not right away like I was going to see Rachel and Tom.  I must admit, I was slightly excited.  I was going to a better place, a place where I could see my dead brother and cousin, and soon, the only person I ever loved.  Maybe this would save Ax too.  And maybe, just maybe, I could forget about the Yeerks and the war there.  Maybe.  Closer, closer the Blade Ship came.  Five thousand feet, four thousand feet.  I braced myself for the impact and death I knew were about to come.

Then, I saw two bright streaks of light arch across the screen, and the Blade Ship blew to pieces.  We did not hit it, but the shock and heat waves did.  I could have sworn that I saw an Andalite body floating in space as we were rocked by the explosion.  I felt my face go white.  What could have happened?

"Jake, that was Shredder beam fire," Menderash said to me.  "I think it was an Andalite ship."

I looked at him incredulously.  I was murderous.  Whoever these people were, they had just cheated me out of the death I wanted, I deserved.  They cheated me out of my one chance to see Rachel and Tom again.  To see Cassie again, someday. 

"Request non-visual communications, now," I barked at him.  "What did they think they were doing?"

I saw Tobias slouch dejectedly in the corner.  He must have been wanting the same thing I had.  Death.  Marco, who had been thrown across the room when the shock wave hit us, sidled back over to Jeanne's side, and put his arm around her.  She turned and slapped him.  Menderash worked at the controls.  He really did not show very much facial expression.

"They are requesting that they board the ship, Jake," Menderash informed me.

"Why should we let them?"  I snarled.  "Oh fine though, let them come on board."  If I could not die crashing into the Blade Ship, maybe they would kill me, at least.  Why had I allowed everything to happen?  Rachel and Tom's deaths, the deaths of James' people, those seventeen thousand Yeerks… And now Ax.  Ax was dead too.  If there was a way to save him from the One, he was dead now.  I put my head in my hands, and wanted to cry.  Where was Cassie when you needed her?


	13. Ax

Chapter 13

            The One was an amazingly complex creature.  It seemed to be pure evil.  It was also very powerful, able to distort the strands of space-time.  After I was kidnapped, he absorbed me.  He took my soul, and made it a part of him, and then absorbed my body, so that he could take its shape, but change out of it if he so desired.  He smothered me in evil, taunting me about every insecurity and problem I ever had.  He would tell me about how no one would ever come to save me.  He controlled me though.  It was like being infested by a Yeerk, but so much worse.  I was not the only person he had absorbed.  There were other races too.  Kuranan, Zeel, Raeli, Gen, Supak, Capasin, Mercora, Korla, and Five were all controlled by him.  The One was ancient, he had existed for many millions of years.  I knew that other aliens were a part of the One as I was, but they never spoke.  I got the idea that they could not think or feel as I could.  I was homesick, for both earth and the Andalite home world.  I had no clue as to how long I was trapped by him.  I told him that my friends would come rescue me, but he never listened.  He just said that I would stay with him forever.  I remained convinced that the remaining Animorphs would save me though.  I told him this, and he started to laugh.  That was when I learned his real reason for absorbing me instead of letting the Yeerks onboard the Blade Ship kill me, as they wanted.

            "Jake, Jake the Yeerk-Killer, is your friend who will come to rescue you?"  He laughed.  "Yes, those humans, they require study.  I have met with your friend Jake before.  I brought him to a strange reality in the future.  He chose love for one human over life for the world.  I want to absorb a human.  I absorbed you to get to them.  I, who banished Crayak to another galaxy, I who can change the space-time continuum will not be stopped by a mere human.  You will never become free, Aximili-Egsarrouth-Isthill.  Nor will the humans, once I absorb them, become free.  You make me more powerful."

            He then told me his history, and how he came to be.

            "I used to live on a moon nearly totally covered by an ocean.  There were a few small islands, but that was it.  I do not know how I evolved, I was a freak of nature, I truly was.  I called myself Father.  I was a being that covered the entire moon, my tentacles absorbed the minds of aliens that crashed onto my planet.  I worked their brains like computers, and that is when I first became aware.  You see, I did not think then.  I was just a blank disk.  As more aliens came onto my moon, I learned more.  Finally, a ship of aliens called Ketrans crashed to my moon.  I absorbed all of them, and in doing so, killed their bodies and only kept their memories to replay and make myself stronger, except for one of them.  He called himself Ellimist."

            I was shocked at this.  The Ellimist had once been a mortal?

            "I kept him alive so that I could play games with him.  It was boring alone there, by myself, with nothing but the memories of the long-dead people who came to my home to amuse me.  By keeping him alive, he could think, and make new thoughts.  I could play games with him.  About sixty-five years after his ship landed there, another ship came, this one filled with a race called Unemites.  They brought the game of music.  Ellimist never beat me in anything.  That is, until, then.  Of course, I beat him the first ninety-nine times we played, but then he learned.  He improvised.  I could never beat him after that.  Not at that game.  I tried a different one.  I won the first four times, but he won after that.  A new game, and he won the first time.  I never beat him again.  Fool that I was, I did not see what he was doing until it was too late.  He was learning.  And then, he learned that to be free, he needed to absorb the thoughts and memories of all the aliens I had.  And he did.  Then, he absorbed me.  He broke free, and disappeared, and I never saw him again.  I have heard that he is now engaged in a new game with Crayak, that being that thought it could rule this galaxy when it is so obvious that I am more powerful than him.

            "After Ellimist left, I no longer had access to anybody's memories.  I was still capable of knowing myself, but I could not think of any original ideas.  I was bored.  I could not even think new things, I only had memories of other peoples memories.  I started to feel hate.  My hate went through me, and around me.  I became murderous.  The next time an alien landed on my moon, I absorbed his mind, and let his body rot.  Then, I was capable of new ideas.  The alien had been of a species I had seen before.  It was a Capasin.  Normally, they did not tolerate hatred and killing, but I disposed of all unnecessary feeling from it.  I kept only its intelligence, creativity, and memories that would be helpful to me.  Then, I knew how to build.  It was difficult, but I used my tentacles to make a spaceship.  The Capasin was an engineer, so it was easy enough to learn how to build it.  The only difficult part afterwards was learning how I would get into it.  All of this took thirty years.  As I was pondering how to go about getting into the ship, another ship filled with aliens, called Korla, landed on an island.  I quickly absorbed them, and though I killed their minds after taking the necessary information, I kept the leader of their group's body alive.  I then put myself into it.  I could move, breath, eat, do everything a true living being should be able to do.  I walked over to my ship, and got in.  Just as I was lifting off, however, the moon exploded under me.  I flew up and away as fast as I could, but my ship was severely damaged.  I made it to another planet that supported life, and found many of some new species.  I was still able to absorb people, and so I did.  I gained their knowledge.  I repaired my ship, and went on my way to absorb other aliens.  I was one, but many at the same time.  Still, my hatred grew.  I hated Ellimist for taking the hundreds of people I had absorbed, and for destroying my home.  Then, one day, I met Crayak.  He was a behemoth of machine and living organism.  I only had a mere Korla body, but I had the memories and knowledge of thousands of races, as well as raw hatred, inside of me.  We were nearly equal.  Crayak did not want something like me that nearly rivaled his powers, so he shot at me.  It should have killed me, except for the face that most of who I was, the people inside of me were already dead.  The physical part of me was destroyed, but my essence remained.  An _ixcila_, I guess I could call it for you to understand, Aximili.  Except it was much more complicated than that.  I was still able to form memories and learn.  And now, I don't know how it happened, but by being like that allowed me to see the strands of space-time as well.  I was in real space as well as the fabric of space-time.  I was all-powerful.  In addition to being able to alter the time-space continuum, I could still absorb living creatures, but in a different way than before.  Now, I absorbed their bodies as well.  I could take in their soul, and keep their body as a memory, sort of, and then I could take the form of their body whenever I felt like it.  I was amazed.  I did not have a real, physical body, but I could take on other forms and even if I did not, I was still there, could still sense, as a presence.  My hatred focused upon Crayak.  He had tried to kill me!  I tugged upon one of the strands of space-time, and sent him hurtling through space to a different galaxy.  Your galaxy, I believe.  I made sure he never returned.  He has not tried for a few millennia now, perhaps he has found some amusement there.  I traveled the galaxy, absorbing more peoples, growing more powerful with each one.  Once I absorbed one though, I always had to take on a physical form in order to travel.  Otherwise, in the vacuum of space, the minds and bodies were sucked out of me.  I never saw where they went though; it is beyond me.  Perhaps they would cease to exist.  It served them right for trying to escape me.

            I amused myself playing with the minds of people of many species, whether I had absorbed them or not.  I believe you know the human I studied, Jake Berenson, Jake the Yeerk-Killer.  Humans are quite interesting.  He chose love over life for the world.  Surprising.  That is why I decided to absorb you.  I wanted to lure Jake and the rest of the Animorphs here, so I could absorb them.  There is nothing you can do.  They will soon be a part of me as well.  I did not destroy the parts of you that were not helpful though.  I want you alive until the time that I absorb them.  That is why you can still think."

            The One scared me.  He was evil, evil in its purest, rawest form.  My life now was nothing.  The only thing I had was talking to the One, listening to him try and break me.  This was no life for anyone.  How I hoped that Jake, Marco, and Cassie would not come to save me.  I did not think Tobias would come back from his self-ordered exile.  If he did though, I hoped he would not try and rescue me either.  They could not suffer the same fate as me.  I waited, resigned to eternity as a prisoner.


	14. Ax

Chapter 14

            I sensed that we were moving.  After the One met with the Yeerks, he convinced them that he was some sort of god and would bring the Yeerk Empire back, greater than before.  After he absorbed me, and I knew what he had done, it made me sick.  If I could morph human, I would do what Marco called barf.  He said that the Yeerks had only to call for him, and he would come.  It was sickening.  We showed up again in the Blade Ship.  We were in the command center, and were looking into the visual contact screen, and, to my great relief, there was a human looking through it at me, at the One at least.  I did not recognize this human, however.  He looked as though he was a few years older than Jake and Marco would be right now.  

The One took on my body, and then made it grow a mouth.  I was disgusted.    

Ax?  I heard.  It was Tobias' voice.  I wanted to reply, to talk to him, but without a true body under my own control, I could speak to no one but the One.

I knew that the One could sense the presence of other minds nearby, so it did not surprise me when he called for another person to come out.  I was not even surprised at who it called for.  I had been expecting him to come, although I now wished he had not.  I had hoped he would come to rescue me ever since I said his name as I was captured.

            "Save your tricks for this Yeerk fool.  I see the truth.  I see all.  Step into view, Jake the Yeerk-Killer.  I know you are there, I feel your mind" the One said.  Inwardly, I cried.  I did not want him and Tobias and whoever else was with them to suffer the same fate as I had.  

            Jake stepped into view.  I was so happy to see him, but I was so sad that he was soon going to be with me and the other thousands of aliens absorbed by the One.  "I'm here," he said.  

            "You have done well to come this far.  You have come to find your friend.  But the Andalite is a part of me now.  As you soon will be."

            I felt a shiver of fear go up my spine, figuratively.

            "Can we shoot?"  Jake asked another human.

            "His Dracon cannon have longer range and greater power," said the other human.  "And his defensive fields have been enhanced.  I doubt our cannon can penetrate them."

            "Thought so," Jake replied, but he sounded strange, calm.  "But we're faster."

            "Yes."

            "Okay."  He looked around the ship, at people I could not see.  "What was it, Marco?"  So Marco was there too.  " 'Crazy, reckless, ruthless decisions'?"  He paused, waiting for an answer from Marco, I guess.  He smiled, and it reminded me of Rachel.  "Full emergency power to the engines," he said, "Ram the Blade Ship."

            My hearts leapt with joy.  Perhaps, just perhaps, he could bring the One out into space.  He had said I would leave him then.  I would no longer be his prisoner!  I hoped as I watched Jake on his ship come closer and closer.  Poor Jake, I thought.  He was going to die.  I was sad for him, but at the same time I was overjoyed at the thought of being apart from the One, being myself again.  I did not know if I would even survive the crash, or what would happen to me after it, but I hoped.  Always, there was hope.  I waited for impact.  I knew that it would not hurt, because the One had taken my physical body, but I still braced myself.  However, when they were still about one thousand feet away, the Blade ship blew apart.  I watched as the walls around me vaporized, and then disappeared.  All around me, human-controllers twisted, before the vacuum of space killed them.  I knew that their blood was both boiling and freezing at once.  Though I have never felt that, I have heard that it is very painful.  

Then, I realized that I was free, free of the One.  I did not recognize where I was though.  It was strange.  Around me were bright lines, intersecting and diverging, splitting and weaving into a complex grid.  However, I sensed that I would not be able to touch them.  I would need to be more powerful in order to do so.  Unexpectedly, the Ellimist appeared before me.  Crayak was next to him.  They were conversing.  Joyfully, I realized that I had my own, Andalite body back.  I listened to their conversation.

"We have always just let the memories go on to the next place," Crayak said.  "We never let them go on to a place in the physical world."

"Yes," Ellimist answered, "But they were always dead.  That was just it, they were memories, nothing more.  This is the first time a trully living person has been brought to us after the One went into regular space without a ship around him, and the vacuum pulled the people's memories out.  He is still alive, and deserves to stay that way.  The rules, Crayak, you cannot kill a sentient creature."

"The rules.  How I hate them.  Otherwise, death would prevail over life; you know it, Ellimist.  As for the game, it continues.  Fine then Ellimist, you win this round.  Return him to where you will."

I started to speak, but it was too late; Crayak and Ellimist had disappeared.


	15. Tobias

Chapter 15 

After the Shredder beam fired at the Blade Ship and blew it apart, I slumped. So, I was not going to die, after all. There was no way I could ever bring myself to actually commit suicide, but I had been hoping for death when we crashed. I looked at Jake. He looked nearly as depressed about living as I did. I wanted to die, I wanted to see Rachel again. Maybe I could meet with my father, Elfangor, as well. Why wouldn't the fates let me die? I started to cry, right then. Now, not only was Rachel, the only person to truly love me, dead, but so was my uncle and _shorm_ Ax. There was no way he could have survived that explosion, besides, I saw people being sucked into space. He had to be dead. I sat, sobbing in a corner. It was like all the emotion I had kept bottled up inside me for the past three years was finally coming out. Not even paying attention, I watched as Jake, Menderash, Marco, Jeanne, and Santorelli prepared to allow the people on the supposedly Andalite ship on board. I felt as though my heart were ripped in two. 

Suddenly, with a popping noise, Ax appeared in front of me. I rubbed my eyes. Stupid, weak human eyes. He was still there. Now Jake, Marco, Menderash, Santorelli, and Jeanne were staring too. So it was not just me. I had not finally cracked, and was seeing hallucinations. I blinked again though, just to make sure. I still saw Ax. 

Hello, Jake, Marco, Tobias, other humans, said Ax. 

"Ax?" I asked. "What- How- Why are you here? You should have died!" 

He then proceeded to explain what the One was, and what had happened after the ship was blown apart. All the others had stopped trying to open a gate between our ship and the other, mysterious one. We were all mystified by the Ellimist and Crayak's conversation, although Menderash stubbornly believed that it was a fairy tale, and Santorelli and Jeanne had no idea what the Ellimist and Crayak were. However, needless to say, we were glad to have Ax back. I could not help myself, and ran up and hugged him. As an Andalite, he had never been one for the need for contact like humans had, but he did not flinch very much this time. I guess he was glad to be back too. If Cassie and Rachel were here, it would almost be like old times. If. 

"It's great to have you back, Ax," I said. "We missed you." 

He lifted his tail, and put it against my neck, the symbol of a _shorm_. Then he smiled the subtle Andalite smile. I felt better, but my heart still felt empty. 

"God, Rachel," I thought, "I miss you." 

Introductions were made between Ax and Santorelli and Jeanne, and Ax tried to introduce himself to Menderash, but before he could, Menderash smiled, and bowed. Then he said, "Prince Aximili, the Andalites will be honored to have you back among them." 

Ax looked at him quizically for a moment, and asked him what he meant. 

"I am Menderash, Prince Aximili. I was the sole survivor of the _Intrepid_." 

Ax looked shocked, but quickly regained his composure and eyed him. You are a human now, Menderash? He questioned. It was direct, and to the point. 

"Yes," he answered. He did not ellaborate, and Ax did not ask him to. 

Jake and Marco had finally gotten back to opening the door between our ship and the other one. After a few more moments, it opened. I blinked. I blinked again. I rubbed my eyes. She was still there. Beautiful, lovely, wonderful Rachel was standing in the entrance. 

"Well," she said, "What took so long?" 

Before I even knew what I was doing, I took off across the command deck, and embraced her. I twined my fingers through her hair, and she held me close. I pressed my lips against hers, and for a moment it seemed like nothing had happened, and the world was still good. We stood like that for what seemed like hours, and I would have been glad to stay for more, but we broke after we heard Marco whistling. 

"Rachel, how...?" I asked. I still did not believe that it was not a dream, a cruel trick. 

"There was a _Sario Rip_," she whispered back. "I came back through it." 

I did not press her for details, I was too overjoyed by the sheer impossibility and wonderfulness of it all. Ax was back. Rachel was back. Rachel. I kissed her again, and she kissed back. 

"All right, you two," I heard another voice say, "There are other people trying to get through here, so move it!" Rachel and I moved to the side, still holding each other in our arms. I looked up, and then looked at Jake. His jaw had dropped open. His eyes were bulging out. 

"Tom!" He said, disbelief in his voice. 

Tom answered. "Yeah, it's me. Jake, I'm free. The Yeerk is gone. I'm free." Tears were welling up in his eyes. Tom walked over, and hugged Jake. "It's good to see you again, Midget," he said. 

Jake looked as though he might cry. 

"Alright," Marco said, "As much as I hate to ruin such a happy moment, but WHY ARE YOU TWO ALIVE WHEN WE SAW YOU DIE?!" I could tell that he was happy at seeing Rachel and Tom alive again too, but he was also annoyed, because he did not know how it could be. I was happy to just accept that she was back, and there was no way I was going to let her go again. 

I heard another new voice. One that I had not heard in months. "Everybody sit down, it's a long story," it said. 

Jake was staring again.  Marco was really starting to look confused.  Rachel smiled.  I turned around, and saw Cassie now standing in the door.  She walked in, followed by Toby, General Doubleday, and an Andalite I did not recognize.  Jake sat down suddenly.  It was like his legs just gave out underneath him.  Then Cassie started to explain how she had the feeling after Jake left that she would need to help us, how she enlisted the help of Toby, General Doubleday, and Yahal, and took off after us.  She told us about the meteor and the _Sario Rip_.  She told us how she managed to take Rachel and Tom before they got onto the Blade Ship, and had the Chee replace them.  She told how they starved the Yeerk out of Tom's head, and came after us.  She had followed us from a distance the entire time, she said.  I felt a stupid grin all over my face.  I did not care.  I was just so happy, Rachel was here.  Here, with me.  I would never let her go again.

After Cassie finished her story, Jake stood up again.  He looked as though he had seen a ghost.  Stiffly, carefully, looking as though the slightest breath of wind would blow her away and break her, he walked up to her, and hugged her.  She started to cry.  He looked back, and brushed the tears off her cheek.  She buried her head in his shoulder.

Rachel leaned onto me.

"Well, Jeanne, as long as everybody else here is being all lovey-dovey," Marco said as her smirked, "I don't know why we shouldn't."  Then, he leaned forward and puckered his lips for a kiss.

Rachel started to laugh.  "Over three years, and you still don't know how to get a girl to pay attention to you."  We all laughed.  She was back.

Marco looked sheepish, and backed off, but not without saying, "Hmph, well, at least I've grown!"

I felt like I was floating.  Rachel was back, and she still loved me, and Ax was back and healthy, and Jake was happy because Tom and Rachel were back, Cassie was here, Marco was himself, and I was ecstatic.  I saw Jake's hand go down and intertwine with Cassie's.  I looked at Rachel, still unable to comprehend why something this great had happened to me, but I accepted it.  I realized the time, and pulled away from Rachel.  She looked at me, confused, until I started to morph back to hawk.  Understanding came into her eyes, and she cast them down.  She had always wished I could stay human, have a normal life, have a family.  I actually enjoyed my life as a hawk much more than my life when I was human, being thrown back and forth between an uncle and aunt, both of which hated me.  We had once believed that I had a chance to live in a normal family again, when my so-called long-lost cousin who had been living in Africa came back and offered to let me live with her.  We later learned that my cousin was actually Visser One in morph, and the only reason he cared about me was because he had learned that my father was Elfangor, an Andalite, and Ax's brother.

            My hawk body was getting old.  I had been in the hawk body for over six years now, plus at least three years for the hawk I had acquired.  Hawks usually live only ten to twenty years.  I was old.  If I wanted to keep on living for years, I would have to give up my body.  I did want to live, now that Rachel was back.  I wanted to live for a long time.  

            I remorphed to human, and kissed Rachel again.  I had missed her so much.  I would never let her go again.


	16. Jake

Chapter 16

            They were alive.  Tom, Rachel, and Ax were alive.  I did not kill them.  Cassie had saved them.  Thank God for Cassie.  I felt awkward around her though.  I knew that she still loved me, after all, she had come to a new galaxy for me.  I still felt as though there was a wall between us though.  I knew she would take me back if I just tried, and the wall was of my making, not hers, but I was still unsure.

            It had been a long day, so after we caught up on the past few months, and years when we were talking to Tom and Rachel, and made all the necessary introductions, we retired to our rooms to sleep.  However, we kept the opening between the two ships open so that we could commute freely.  Yahal and Menderash had stayed awake to watch the ships.  I fixed my bed with the covers together; I had kicked them off the night before.  I started to pull off my shirt so I could change into my nightclothes, but there was a knock on my door.  I opened it, and saw Tom standing there.

            "Hey, Midget," he said.  "Mind if I come in?  I need to talk to you."

            I nodded that yes, he could come in.  I was so thrilled that he was back, there was little I would not let him do, or do for him.  "What's up?"  I asked.

            "It's Cassie."

            I sucked in a breath.  I was not sure I wanted to hear what he was going to say.

            "She really does care for you, you know that, don't you?"

            "Yeah, of course I do.  She came across the galaxy and into another one for me, for all of us."

            Tom looked at me.  Despite myself, I started to laugh.  He used to be four years older than me, but because he missed the two years between the end of the war and when Cassie left earth, he was now only one years older.  "No, Jake, something other than that.  She does not just care, she loves you."

            I felt my cheeks turn red and hot.  "It's been so weird these past years though," I started to protest, embarrassed, but he would not hear it.  He cut me off.

            "You still love her too, both you and I know it."

            He was right, and I found that I could not deny it.

            "Now, please listen to me.  I am your brother again, not a Yeerk.  My advice is real.  If you would just stop being so obstinate and talk to her, get out of your funk, because you should, Rachel and I are not dead, and be yourself, you two could be something wonderful.  When the Yeerk was in my head, even though I could not say anything to you, I wanted to tell you to keep her, she was a great girl.  Now I can say it, but I have to change the words:  Get her back; she is a great woman.  She nearly bored us all to death those few months on the _Jahar II_ talking about you.  She kept wondering if you would still love her, if you would still want you to get married.  She told us that you did propose to her at one point."  He looked at me sharply.  I squirmed in my seat.  "Which is good, but after that you went all weird on her.  That is not good."  I realized that I was blushing furiously.  "Talk to the girl, it will be alright.  She wants you to be like you were before.  She wants the two of you to be together again."

            "I don't know," I told him.  "It has just been so awkward ever since she let you- the Yeerk- get away with the morphing cube, and after Mom and Dad were captured.  I thought I was okay again in the time before we blew up the Yeerk pool, I really did.  But then, after you and Rachel died, I just could not help myself.  I felt horrible.  I was so depressed, all the time.  I guess I should feel better, now that you two are back, alive again, and I do, sort of, but I guess these things take time.  And then there were the seventeen thousand Yeerks, and the auxiliary Animorphs too…"

            Tom looked grim.  "Marco and Cassie think you are clinically depressed, Jake," Tom said.  "Seeing you, I'm starting to think that they might be right.  If you do not snap out of it by the time we make it, if we make it, back to earth, you are going to a doctor and getting some medication.  It's just not healthy.  We are back though, Jake, and it was not your fault that we would have died.  Rachel told us herself that she would have gone even if you had not told her to.  Even then, we did not die, Cassie saw to that.  Stop blaming yourself."

            I forced a smile.  "Thanks, Tom.  I thought I would never see you again.  I thought that I never was even able to say goodbye.  During the war, I did not think I could ask for advice, because your Yeerk would have just tried recruiting me for the Sharing.  This almost makes up for it."

            He patted me on the head.  "That's what brothers are for, right?"

            I smiled again, this time it was true.  He was free.  "Well, I guess I had better go talk to her then, so I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

            Tom nodded, and walked out of my room.  A few minutes later, I followed him out and went to the _Jahar II_.  I walked through its halls to her room, and then took a deep breath.  I knocked once, but before I could bring my fist down again, the door whipped open, and Cassie poked her head through.

            "Yes?  Oh, it's you, Jake, come on in."  She flashed me a smile, but I looked at her eyes and noticed that they were red, puffy, and swollen.  She had been crying.

            I walked into her room, and looked around.  It was small, and did not have a real bed.  There was a soft mattress in one corner, but that was it.  She had said that this was originally an Andalite ship, so I assumed that the lack of a bed was due to the fact that Andalites did not lay down as we did.  She sat down on the mattress, and I sat next to her.  

            "So," she said.

            "So," I agreed.  "How are you?"

            "Good, I guess," she said, halfheartedly.

            I brushed a strand of short hair out of her eyes.  "You were crying."

            She blushed.  "Yes, well, I…" She looked down.

            "Cassie."  I said.  "I'm so sorry.  The past few years, I have just been strange.  I blamed myself for Rachel and Tom's deaths, and James' people, and for the deaths of the seventeen thousand Yeerks.  I was depressed, and acted like it around you.  I was awkward.  I was just so miserable.  Cassie, I- God, Cassie, I'm so sorry."  I looked at her, and noticed how wonderful she looked.  She was so beautiful; I stared at her like I had never seen her before.

            "Jake, it's okay-" she started, but I cut her off.  

She was just saying that it was okay, but I knew that it was not.  I leaned in, and kissed her.  After a moment, she kissed back, and I felt as though all my qualms and fears over the past two years were just melting away.  How could I ever have left her?  I wrapped my arms around her.  After a few more moments, Cassie pulled away.  Her eyes shone.

"You are feeling better then, really?"  She asked, excitedly.

I nodded, and smiled.  I was feeling better than I had in years.  Then she came forward and kissed me again.  I felt like I was soaring.

"I love you, Cassie," I said.

"I love you, Jake," she whispered back.

"You said one year, Cassie," I said.  "One year after the war ended, we would talk about our future together.  It's been over that long.  But I can wait a while longer, if you can.  Why don't we give it a couple of weeks, and then talk?  Does that work for you?"

She nodded enthusiastically.  She had such a gorgeous smile.  I smiled back, and took her hands in my own.  We were silent.

The silence was broken by loud, deep laughter.  We looked up, I saw Marco standing in the doorway, cracking up.  "Ignore me!"  He cried.  "This is so funny!  Go on, I want to see this!  I am not here!"  He started to morph, and judging by the scaly armor and set of antenna growing on him, I figured it was some sort of bug.

"Marco!"

Ignore me.  He commanded.

"I'll squash you like the bug you're becoming!"  I hollered.

Whoa, no need to become violent, Big Jake, he said, and started demorphing.  When he finally was completely human again, he had a large smile plastered onto his face.  "Catch you later, O Fearless Leader," he said with a wink, and walked off.

I realized that my face had become a deep shade of scarlet.  Cassie was laughing.  "Why doesn't he mind his own business?"  I grumbled.

Cassie laughed even harder.  "I think he enjoyed watching that," she chuckled.

I started to laugh as well.  I put my arm around her, and she leaned her head on my shoulder.  We sat there, talking, just like during old times, for another hour before I left to go back to my room.  I passed Tom on the way back.

"Well, how did it go?"  He demanded.

I grinned, and gave him the thumbs up.  He smiled back.  I walked back to my room feeling as though a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders and went into a deep sleep.


	17. Marco

Chapter 17

            As annoying as I was being to Jake, I really was happy for him.  He looked much better, and he had a certain lift in his walk that I had not seen in the past three of years.  Tom and Rachel being back really was making him feel better.  I could tell.  When I was spying on him and Cassie, he looked so sullen and worried at first, but he left looking content.  This was good, I really had been worrying about him.  After he chased me off, I walked back to the _Rachel_ with a grin on my face.  Maybe Big Jake was finally coming to his senses.  Bored, I meandered over to the bridge.

            "Hey, Menderash, what's up?"  I asked.

            He looked at me.  He looked at me some more.  Finally, he answered, " 'Up' is not a true concept, it is only something that peoples across the universe had invented…" He started to drone on about the curvature of space, perceptions of a people depending on their place in space, et cetera.  My eyes glazed over.  Obviously, although he had a human body, he still had not learned English slang.

            "Man, Menderash, you really have to go learn how we Americans speak!  What I was asking was 'What is new with you?'"

            "Ah.  Well, nothing much then.  I have just been standing here watching the bridge for exactly one of your hours."

            "Aw, not you too!  Menderash, they're everyone's hours, not just our hours.  First Ax, now you, and I would be willing to bet that Yahal does the same thing!"  I shook my head.  "Now repeat after me:  They are everybody's hours, minutes, seconds, et cetera."

            He blinked.  There was silence.

            "Fine then, be that way," I said.  "I think I am going to go make sure Jake has not gotten into much trouble since I left.  Goodbye."  I turned around to walk away, but stopped in my tracks at the sound of Menderash's startled gasp.

            "Marco, wait," he said, "There is an unidentified ship coming towards us quite quickly."

            Slowly, I turned around.  "What?"

            "There is a ship approaching us.  They wish to contact us."

            "I guess I'll go get our Fearless Leader then…" I turned around and ran towards Jake's room.

            I knocked.  I knocked again.  He did not answer.  I decided he must be asleep and needed to be woken up.  With an evil smile on my face, I morphed fly.  I zipped under his door and demorphed inside the room.  I wondered how the best way to wake him up would be.  I grinned, and morphed gorilla.  I lumbered over to his bed, and picked him up, held him above my head, and dropped him.

            "Huh?  What?"  He yelled as he slammed onto the floor on his butt.

            Good morning, Jake, I said.

            "What do you think you're doing?  I've only been asleep for about fifteen minutes!"  Jake demanded.

            I snapped to a salute.  Alien ship approaching, Sir!  Awaiting your instructions, Sir!  Please report to the bridge now, Sir!

            His eyes opened wide.  "Alien ship?"  He said as he stood up and dusted himself off.

            Yes, Sir!  They wish to hail us, Sir!

            He rolled his eyes.  "Come on Marco."  He ran out of his room.

            I demorphed and followed him a few minutes later.  I walked into the room, and saw Menderash and Jake talking.  Menderash turned towards me.  "Marco," he said, "Go and wake everyone else from both the _Rachel _and the _Jahar II_.  Hurry!"

            "Okay…" I said.  "Be right back."  I jogged out and went around to each room, waking people up.  Yahal had already been awake and watching the alien ship closely.  "They're hailing the _Rachel_," I informed Yahal.  He looked at me in what I thought was his face of grim determination.  I still am not very good at reading Andalite emotions.

            Cassie, Rachel, Tom, General Doubleday, and Toby meandered groggily into the room.  Marco, Yahal said to me, Go get Prince Aximili and Bring him in here.  Perhaps he will be able to hide.  We do not know if this is a _Kelbrid_ ship.

            "Alright," I sighed.  I turned around, muttering about being everybody's messenger.  I trotted over to the bridge of the _Rachel_ again, and as I walked in, I was met by a startling sight.  In the viewing screen was a blue humanoid face, but without a mouth.  There were two slits for a nose, and slanted eyes.  Another pair of eyes rose above its head on stalks.  It had a torso like a human, but slighter and its hands had too many fingers.  It was eyeing Jake, standing in front of the screen, suspiciously.  I gaped at it.  It looked miraculously like an Andalite, but not quite.  It's skull was too round and it twitched too much.  No one had noticed me yet.  Staring from the door into the bridge, I mouthed my surprise. 

 "Garatron," I gasped.


	18. Marco

Chapter 18

            Yes, he said quickly, IamaGaratron.  His voice came so quickly that you heard it first, and understanding came a minute or two later.

            I recognized him from one of our earlier missions, when the Inspector came to observe Visser One's, the Visser Three's, methods to conquer earth.  The Inspector was the only one with the host body of a Garatron; Visser Three had been jealous, especially because the lightning speed of the Garatron outdid his Andalite host body.  Visser Three, however, had an advantage over the Inspector: he had the Andalite morphing power.  We nearly were killed in the Yeerk pool when Visser Three asked the Inspector to show him how easy it was to capture us.  However, Ax morphed rattle snake and bit the Inspector, allowing us to get away.  We never learned more about the Garatron, or if there were any other Yeerks possessing Garatron hosts.  I was dumbfounded that we had finally found another one.

            The Garatron continued.  However,wearealsoknownasthe_Kelbrid_,totheAndalitesatleast. Theyfirstmetwitha

troupeofGaratronthatspeakadifferentdialect,wheretheycalltheGaratronthe_Kelbrid_.

            Jeanne was starting to whiten.  The Garatron ship did look quite ferocious.

            "It's okay, Jeanne, I'll protect you," I told her.

            She gave me a withering look.

            "What, what did I do?"  I whined.

            The Garatron continued to glare at us.  IhavetoldyouwhatIam,nowtellwhatyouare, he demanded.

            Jake looked at him.  "We are human," he stated.  "Except for that over there, that is a red-tailed hawk," he said, pointing at Tobias.  I looked around for Ax, relieved to see that he had obviously morphed into human before coming onto the bridge.  "This is the ship the Enterprise, on a peaceful reconnaissance mission for the United Confederation of Planets." 

            I snickered, despite the fact that there was a very mean looking Garatron staring at everybody on the bridge, including me.  It was our own little joke; we had figured that nobody in this part of the universe had seen the old Star Trek reruns.  

            "My name is Captain Kirk, and this is my faithful crew," Jake said.  "Now what is your name?" he asked with a glare.

            MynameisCaptainBarvaritunLarumianHartar, the Garatron said coldly.  Andyouwilladdressmeassuch.  His eyes, all four of them, looked even harder, colder, and more distant.  Now,youwilltellmeexactlywhyyouarehere,when youobviouslycamefromAndalitespace. WedonottolerateAndaliteshere.

            Jeanne went even whiter.  I stepped forward.  Jake had said it himself; I was the best BS artist on this ship.

            "We are just exploring.  We are not these Andalites you speak of," Jake said to Barvaritun Larumian Hartar.  I looked at Ax.  Although his human facial expressions are still not very good, I could tell that he looked like he had eaten something sour.  Something very sour.  Menderash looked as though he would be sick.  I did not blame them; Andalites are very proud and they probably hated for us to pretend as though we did not know them.  

            Verywell, the Garatron said with a hard stare.  Youwillescapethistime. Butbeware,especiallyifwefindthatyou areAndalitesorcarryingAndalitetechnology. Nowleave.

            "You will not order me on what to do, Garatron," Jake said.  He was getting pretty good at this entire first-contact-with-a-new-alien-species-so-we-had-to-look-strong thing.  "We will leave of our own choice though, we did not come to fight."

            Barvaritun Larumian Hartar's eyes flashed.  Verywellthen, he said angrily.  Go,butdonotexpectawelcomeas kindasthisthenexttimeyouwanderintoGaratronterritory.  The communications screen flickered and went blank.  

Jeanne went over to the _Jahar II_ and told them that we would be leaving this area, and we would extend our force field over them to allow us to stay connected.  The engines fired up, and we speeded away from the Garatron ship.  Ax demorphed, and Cassie came onto the bridge of the _Rachel_.

"What did the people on the ship say, Jake?"  She asked.

"They were the _Kelbrid_, also known as the Garatron, you know, what the Inspector had as a host body?" I answered her.

Her face clouded over for a moment.  "What did they say?"

This time Jake answered her.  "They told us to get out of their space, or they won't be nearly as friendly next time," he said.  "Like they were friendly this time."

"They looked remarkably like Andalites, didn't they?" she questioned.

There were similarities, but it is obvious that we are unrelated and Andalites have bodies much better suited to life, Ax said as he puffed out.  Andalite arrogance, I wondered if they would ever get over it.

"I wonder what the relationship between the Andalites and the Garatron really is," she muttered quietly to herself.  "It would be so strange for aliens from different galaxies to evolve to look so similar."

The rest of the crew of the _Jahar II_ filed in, and we all stood in the bridge, while Jake told everybody else what had happened.  Tobias fluttered over onto Rachel's shoulder, and she smiled at him.  Jake and Cassie were holding hands.  Thinking that this was my big chance, I headed over to Jeanne, but walked off when I saw her holding Tom's hand.  Disappointed, I stood and sulked, but I knew that I would get over it.  I had no chances with Jeanne from the beginning.  She was more Tom's age anyway.  Fooey.

Menderash spoke.  "We came here only to get Prince Aximili, and because we are in enemy territory with two real Andalites and one Andalite ship, I suggest we go back to earth.  We will be safer there."  He looked at Ax.  Ax looked at Jake.  Jake sighed.

"I suppose that would be the wisest thing, tomorrow, we will start for earth."  He smiled.  Tom and Rachel smiled.  They were thought to be dead by the world, and they would finally see their families again.  It was hard to tell with Tobias in his hawk body, but even he looked excited.  Jake had a glint in his eyes I had not seen there since his parents were taken.  Cassie had a small smile on her face and she squeezed Jake's hand.

"Well, that's it folks, we're going home!"  I exclaimed with a stupid grin on my face.  I may have been bored to death before we left, but that did not mean I did not want to go back and see my parents, the girls, and I would not kill for a fresh hamburger.  Dried food, after a while, just loses its appeal.  I grimaced.  I was starting to sound like Ax.  Slowly, people filtered out of the bridge and into the other rooms.  Thinking about the soft bed I would finally be able to sleep in again in just a few weeks when we made it back to earth.


	19. Tobias

Chapter 19

            Rachel walked to her room, me riding on her shoulder.  Rachel, I said.  I missed you.

            She turned her head towards me, a smile on her face and sparkles in her eyes.  I fluttered down onto her held out arm.  She cocked her head to the side, as though searching for an explanation.  Inwardly, I took a deep breath.  After you died- Lourdes or Mr. King made it look like you died- I just could not go on.  I let myself live as the hawk, because the hawk does not feel the pain like humans do.  I tried to forget myself.  I could not, of course, because I could only think of you.  I did not morph human again until a few hours ago, when we almost rammed the Blade Ship.  I couldn't stand it.  God, I love you Rachel, I said to her.  I meant every word.  However, there was no way I could ever put the extent of my pain into words.  My heart had been ripped out.

            Her blue eyes bore into mine.  "You should have just gotten over it, Tobias, you couldn't live like that," she said reprovingly.  It was a classic Rachel answer, she would not have wanted me to be so upset over her.

            I couldn't help it, I said to her.  You're back now though, so it's better.

            She smiled even wider.  "I love you, Tobias, you know that, don't you?  I don't know if I ever told you that… I did in that other timeline, where I died, I know, but never like this," she said.  I was so happy.  She was back.  I hopped off her arm and started to morph back to human.  I emerged into my human form, and took her hand.  We talked a bit more, about what she missed in the world when she was "dead," and about the mysterious Garatron/_Kelbrid_.  

            Suddenly, there was a loud thump, and the room started spinning.  Rachel fell, and I went down a few seconds later.  I heard a scream from another room.  The world was going around, spinning, shaking…  I felt a sudden prick of pain and felt blood flowing into my weak human eyes from a cut on my forehead.  The last thing I saw before the darkness enveloped me was Rachel lying in a tangled heap, blood oozing from a multitude of cuts and scrapes all over her body.

            I awoke, and immediately jumped.  I was in my human body.  How long had it been?  I wanted to spend my life with Rachel, now that she was back, but I still wanted to be able to feel the air under my wings whenever I wanted.  I suddenly grew very still.  Rachel… The last time I had seen her, she had been lying in a crumpled heap.  Was she okay?  I looked over at the corner where she had been.  There was some blood, but she was not there.  I felt some, but not much, of the tension that was knotting my stomach up leave.  She had been able to move.  Unless someone else had to move her, I thought grimly.  I shook my head.  I could not afford to think like that.  I started to demorph back to my hawk body, not even knowing if it was still possible.  Thankfully, I felt that changes begin.  I opened my wings and after a few moments, lifted myself off the ground and into the air.  It was difficult flying inside, but I had been getting used to it ever since we had left earth.  I had gotten some practice with it during the war as well.  Swiftly, I flew to the bridge, hoping to see some sign of life.  As I went through the halls of Yahal's ship, I noticed the severe damage, how the temperature seemed to be getting a bit warm, and the various things scattered in disarray all over the ground.  I made my way into the _Jahar II _and looked around, hoping to see some sign of life.  I turned a corner into the bridge, and saw a site that made my blood curdle.

            Laying in the center of the room was Tom, blood gushing out of a large gash in his chest, with Jeanne kneeling by him cradling his head.  "Morph," she whispered, "I know you can.  It will heal you!  Please, Tom, morph."  A single tear fell off of her cheek.  She looked at me, and I saw her heart breaking.  I knew that face, it was the same one I had worn when I thought Rachel was dead.  "I have only known him for a few hours, but it seems like so much more," she managed to utter.  Her face grew determined.  "My God, I will save him if my name is really Jeanne Emilie Gerard!"  She cried.  Marco strode over quickly and knelt by Jeanne, whispered something, and stood up again.  He had probably told her to hush up, because she became quiet.  He always had been the one who could see exactly what needed to be done.  And I soon realized that she did need to be quiet, because although Tom was the main thing to see in the room, it was obvious that there was another, much more serious problem at hand.  Jake was standing at the front of the bridge, speaking once again into the communications screen.  The ugly face of Captain Bavaritun Larumian Hartar was onscreen.  Alongside him was another Garatron, but for some reason this one seemed different, like there was nothing but pure evil coming out of him.  

            "Captain Bavaritun, why did you follow us and shoot at us just now?  We told you before, we do not have any Andalites or Andalite technology with us."  Jake's voice was steel-edged, and his face a mask, but I heard the small quaver in his voice, and knew what it meant.  He had already lost his brother once, and did not want to lose him again.

            Well,Jake, at this, Jake paled, for there was no way for the Garatron to know his name.  Ourfriendhere seemstothinkdifferently. HeseemstothinkthatyouarecarryingtwoAndalites,oneformerAndalite,andanAndaliteshipwithyou.  The entire time, the captain was gesturing to the Garatron standing at his side.  It suddenly hit me, and Jake must have realized it too, because I heard him whisper, "The One!"

            Youfigureditout,Jake,goodforyou, said the One.  Itoldthemwhoyouwere,fortherewasnowayIwasgoingtolet youtakemypeople,andthengetawaywithit. Oh,no,therewasnoway. Ifollowedthisship,andnowIwillabsorbyou. Ihavethe powertodoso. IalreadyabsorbedthisGaratron.  Its face twisted into a mockery of a smile.  Youlosethistime,Jake.  The One was speaking quickly like the Garatron it had absorbed would have.

            Jake cut the communications.  "Menderash, are there any planets nearby which would be hospitable to us?"

            Menderash did something on the computer, and turned back to Jake.  "Yes, the large orange planet that way-" he pointed to his left, "-should have a breathable atmosphere."

            "Bring us there, as fast as possible, and land.  Perhaps we will be able to hide," ordered Jake.

            "Yes, Jake," replied Menderash.  And so we went to the large orange planet, which for some odd reason looked familiar as we grew closer.


	20. Rachel

Chapter 20

            We hurtled towards the planet, with the Garatron ship following close behind.  I felt the familiar adrenaline rush flow up inside of me.  I ran out from the weapons station and into the center of the bridge.  Tobias was perching on Jake's shoulder, who was next to Marco and Jeanne, and they were all huddled around a still form that could be no other than Tom.   I bit my lip.  Was my cousin dead, after all we had done to save and free him?  I sincerely hoped not.  I stepped in between Marco and Jake, and Tobias hopped onto my shoulder.  Jeanne was sitting, with Tom's head cradled in her lap.  Jake was shaking, and his lips were pursed, but he was trying to remain calm.  Marco looked grim.  Menderash was sitting at the control panel steering us toward the planet.  

            "Where's Cassie?"  I asked.  "And Ax, and Toby, and General Doubleday, and Santorelli, and Yahal?"

            "Probably in the _Jahar II_ managing the controls so they come with us," replied Jake, his voice tight.  "Marco, go check to make sure that they are alright.  Bring Cassie back with you, and Ax as well."

            "Yeah, whatever, I really am the little messenger, aren't I?" grumbled Marco. 

            I laughed.  "Little is right, shrimp."  I smirked, but then I changed my face accordingly, because I realized something horrible: I could no longer make fun of him for being short, because in the two years that he had been alive and I hadn't, he had grown to be slightly taller than me.  He started to crack up.  "You know, just because you've been alive for three years more than me and grew while I was dead doesn't mean you're still not short," I said as I eyed Jake, Menderash, and Tom, who both towered about four inches taller than him, at least.  Marco stuck out his tongue before turning around and dashing to the other ship.  

            You're okay,  Tobias said to me in private thoughtspeak.  When I saw you before I fainted, you were in really bad shape.

            I smiled, but did not say anything because the other people would hear me.  I made my face serious again, and bent down to look at Tom.  A tear ran down Jeanne's cheek.

            He's breathing.  Just barely, but he is, Tobias said to every one.  I can see his chest rising and falling.

            "Thank God."  Jeanne's lower lip was trembling.

            "Alright, what's going on?"  Cassie had burst through the door and was now trying to see how bad Tom really was.  When she finally did see the wound in his stomach, still sluggishly pumping blood, she went pale.  "Okay," she muttered to herself, "You performed brain surgery on Ax, you can clean and bandage this wound.  After all, you do have more medical experience than anybody else here…"  Her expression was still one of horror.  "I need some water, soap, gloves, a needle, thread, alcohol, antibacterial ointment, antibacterial pills, and a large, clean bandage.  Hurry!"  She called out to the rest of us.

            "Is he really that bad?" asked Jeanne.

            Cassie looked at her for a moment, and then nodded.  Jeanne looked away, and her shoulders started to shake.  A small sob escaped her.  After a moment, Jake, who had gone to get the supplies Cassie had asked for, came hurrying into the room.  Cassie walked over to where he had put down the supplies, and began to wash her hands in the water he had brought.  After about ten minutes, she dried them off, and slipped on the gloves.  She grabbed some gauze, which Jake had also brought, and pressed it to Tom's side.  She held it there firmly for a few moments, and then removed it.  It was soaked through with blood, but the wound was not bleeding as much anymore.  Next, she threaded the needle, and began to suture up the wound.  Jeanne winced each time the needle pierced the flesh.  The wound was huge, and it took her a good twenty minutes to sew an uncountable amount of stitches in his side and clean it out with the alcohol.  The wound was deep, and I did not know if stitches would be enough.  At one point, she touched a rib, and Tom lashed out in his sleep.  Upon closer inspection, Cassie realized that he had a few broken ribs as well.  His face was a ghostly white, and when I took his pulse, it was beating very weakly.  I bit my lip and crossed my fingers, not wanting my cousin to die so soon after he was freed.  I looked at Jeanne, and gave her a weak smile.  With a grim face, Cassie placed some gauze over Tom's wound, and wrapped his entire chest tightly with a bandage after rubbing antibiotics liberally around his lesion.  

She finally looked up, and said, "Now we can only hope.  Do you know if he hit his head when he fell?"

Jeanne nodded.  "Yes.  He did."

Cassie nodded as well.  "Put him in a bed on this ship.  Give his head lots of support with the pillows, and somebody needs to be watching him at all times."

As she said this, Yahal, Toby, and Ax walked in.  Cassie turned to them.

"Yahal, is there anything we can feed him while he's still asleep?"

Liquefied grass, in injection form, he answered.  All of the humans turned slightly green.  Do not worry; it has been done before, he said as we looked at him doubtfully.  My father told me about it.  Only a bit before he was infested, there were two humans he was in charge of returning to earth.  Loren and Chapman, I believe their names were.  They drank the liquefied grass because there was nothing else we could offer them.

Tobias stirred on my shoulder.  Loren? he probed.

Yes.  Loren.  She had blonde hair, and blue eyes.

With wonder in his voice, Tobias asked, Yahal… Were there any other people, Andalite or human, on that mission?

Yes, Yahal answered.  Elfangor and Arbron, both of which I believe you are familiar with, were there.

Really,  Tobias said distantly.  You will have to tell me the rest of the story some time.

Yahal said he would.

My mother, Tobias said to me privately.  Maybe finally we will know what really happened to her and Elfangor.

"Maybe," I agreed softly.  Jake turned to me and together we lifted Tom onto Yahal's back, and although an Andalite would normally not let anyone onto their back like a common horse, Yahal agreed in this case.  Slowly, we walked to Jake's room on the _Rachel_.  Wow, I loved the name of the ship.  When we finally got there, we placed Tom on the small bed, and propped up his head with some spare pillows.  Jeanne came in carrying a blanket, which she draped over Tom's still body, and then she looked at us and offered to take the first watch over him.  Jake nodded and left, and I followed him out, but as I did, I saw Jeanne bend down and let her lips quickly graze against Tom's.

In the hall, Jake spoke to me.  "Do you think Tom will be okay?" he asked, his voice cracking.

"I don't know, Jake," I replied, sadly.  "He had better not die on us.  I've already lost one cousin, I'm not keen to lose another one now that he's free.  Anyway, this cousin is just slightly nicer than Saddler."  I smiled grimly, then yelled into the sky, "Sorry, Saddler, wherever you are!  You weren't that bad!"

Jake managed to crack a small smile, and then walked back to the bridge.  I followed him, and rejoined Tobias.

Look into the viewing screen, Tobias said to me.  Does the planet look familiar to you?

I gazed into the screen, where I could see the orange planet looming up before us.  Tobias was right; it did look familiar.  I could see bright areas of light, and when I looked closer, I could tell that they were cities.  We came even closer, and I started to be able to make out landmarks.  

Marco had come back into the room, and I suppose he had been looking at the viewing screen too, because he said, "Uh…Jake?  Are we sure we want to land on this planet?  It looks inhabited… We aren't out of _Kelbrid_ space yet, are we?  What if we land on a planet full of those Garatrons- _Kelbrids_- whatever they're called?"  He grinned.  "That wouldn't be fun."

"We'll have to try anyway; the ships are too badly hurt to continue much farther.  Besides, we need to do something to get away from Captain Bavaritun Larumian Hartar and the One.  Maybe all the innocent people will shield us.  Just hope they're friendly."

"And if they're not?" Marco questioned further.

"Cross your fingers," Jake replied.

My lips split into a grin.  "Let's do it!"

"We're doomed," Marco muttered.

I shot him a grin and looked back at the planet.  I could see details of the cities now; they had bright splashes of color, were built on stilts reaching far into the sky, and looked like large Lego blocks.

Oh no, Tobias said.

"Oh no," Marco agreed.

"I am not giving away my hair this time; I'm still trying to grow it out from before.  My hair grows slowly!"  I protested, as Jake, Tobias, Cassie, Marco, and Ax, who had walked in a bit earlier, looked at me.

If I remember correctly, these people were quite annoying," commented Ax.

Oh, yeah.  'Will you buy this?  I'm selling that!  Wow, those are great!  Can I chop them off of you to sell them?  I know lots of people who would enjoy a pair of human arms!  Memories for sale!'  These Iskoort bug me," Marco agreed.

Iskoort?  Yahal questioned.

"Iskoort?"  Menderash asked.

"Iskoort," I said.  "Now, Menderash, friend, You have no real love for this human body, right?  You wouldn't mind giving up your hair, would you?"  I asked as sweetly as possible.  "You know, shaved heads really are popular right now…"

"Rachel!" Cassie scolded.

"What?" I whined.  "I am not giving up my hair this time!"

The view screen showed the city around us, because we had moved in so close and were near some of the lower levels.  We saw a docking port with numerous other ships, and Menderash steered over there.  After only a couple of seconds, we landed with a soft bump.


	21. Marco

Chapter 21

            This day was definitely not turning out fun.  Not only had our ship been totaled by an evil pain-in-the-you-know-what, and Tom had been hurt so badly he was still on the brink of death, but we had to land on the planet of annoying salespeople.  The Iskoort were actually two species, the Isk and the Yoort, but they were symbiotic, and one could not live without the other.  We actually believed that the Yoort were distant relatives of the Yeerks that had been brought to this distant galaxy by some unknown alien species, because the Yoort had created the Isk as a host species, but had to leave every three days to soak up Kandrona rays in the Yoort pool.  However, the Iskoort were peaceful merchants, although very annoying, because they tried to buy and sell everything.  Last time we had been on this planet, it had been to fight seven of Crayak's minions, the Howlers.  We finally beat them with the memory of love.  In order to pay for our visit, Rachel had had six inches of her hair cut off, and all of us sold our memories.  We had been quite happy to leave.  However, it looked like now we would be stuck here again, at least until we could get rid of the One and his cronies, and get our ships fixed.

            All of us bounded out of the ships as quickly as possible, although Yahal, Jake, Jeanne, and Cassie were slowed because they had to carry out Tom, because we already knew the bite of the beam weapons on the Garatron's ship, and knew that the One would not hesitate to use them where innocent people could be hurt.  We were afraid that they might shoot at the ship a second time after we were on the ground and kill us all.  Sure enough, only about a minute after we had evacuated the ship, two twin beams of light shot down from the air and vaporized both ships.

            My ship!  I heard Yahal yell.  My beautiful, wonderful _Jahar II_…

            "Great," I whined.  "Now how are we going to get home?"

            "You know, we should probably start moving, in case they land…" said Santorelli.

            Jake nodded his agreement, and started trying to get the rest of us moving, but most people were not planning on moving anytime soon.  Yahal was looking with all four eyes at the scorched ground where his ship had been only a moment before, Toby was standing aloof about ten feet away from the rest of us, Jeanne was tending to Tom, and Rachel, Cassie, and I were watching her, and Tobias was sitting on Rachel's shoulder.  Menderash and Ax were discussing how to get back to earth without a ship, General Doubleday and Santorelli were standing with them, although there was no way they could have done anything to help them.  However, before Jake could get anyone to even move one step, the Iskoort were upon us.

            Memories!  Memories for sale!  I buy memories as well!  Would you like to buy some of these wonderful Skrit Na memories?

            I will give you a very fine price for one of your kidneys!

            Buy an eyeball, yes?  I sell the finest eyeballs!

            I can give you food and lodging for only one arm!

            "Alright," Rachel said, "let me handle this."  She turned to the Iskoort.  "BACK OFF!  WE DON'T WANT TO BUY ANYTHING RIGHT NOW!  HOWEVER, HE-" she pointed at Menderash.  "-WILL BE WILLING TO SELL HIS HAIR IF ONE OF YOU CAN BRING US TO GUIDE, THE ISKOORT ALSO CALLED GUIDE, GRUB OF SKIN-SELLER, BROTHER OF MEMORY WHOLESALER."

            "Feisty today, aren't you?"  I asked her.  She just rolled her eyes.

            We stood around for a few moments, with all the people who had not been on this planet before giving us strange looks, and fending off the eager merchants, until finally one Iskoort led another familiar one up to us.  The unfamiliar one then pulled out some sort of blade and proceeded to shave Menderash bald, to his surprise.

            "Guide, long time no see, whazzup?"  I asked him.

            What are you doing here?  he asked.  You beat the Howlers a long time ago.  They left, and don't come here anymore.  

            "We just happened to be in the neighborhood and decided to say hi," I said sarcastically.

            We were being attacked and found that this planet was the closest one that would support our kind of life.  We did not realize it was the Iskoort homeworld until we had nearly landed, Ax answered truthfully.  

            "We were actually hoping that you could help us again," Jake said to Guide.  "We will need food, a place to sleep, a new ship, and supplies.  We will also need things to take care of my brother with."

            It may be hard to find these things, and it may be expensive.

            "It has been a while since we left here, right?  We will have had time to create plenty of new memories.  In addition, if my brother is healed, he has the memory of being infested by a Yeerk, the aliens we were fighting last time we were here.  And Ax has the memories of being held prisoner by an all-powerful being."

            During this exchange, Yahal, Santorelli, Menderash, Toby, General Doubleday, and Jeanne were starting to look really confused.  Tom was still unconscious.

            "Okay," Santorelli said, annoyed, "We're officially confused.  May we please ask what is going on and how you know this talking accordion?  I did not realize you had been into _Kelbrid _space before this…"

            "Well," I said, "It began like this:  because these two all-powerful beings, Crayak and Ellimist, have this little millennia long game going on, and Ellimist is good, I guess, and Crayak is evil, they were trying to decide if the Iskoort here would be destroyed or not.  Ellimist wanted them to live, and therefore leave open the possibility that the Yeerks would find them and see that there's a better way, because, you see, the Iskoort are really two species.  There is the Isk, which is what you see, and the Yoort, that live inside the head of the Isk.  They are symbiotic and can't survive without the other.   Every three days, the Yoort must leave the body of the Isk so that they may swim in the Kandrona pool and soak up nutrients.  We are pretty sure that the Yoort are a distant relative of the Yeerks, and were taken here by another, forgotten species.  If the Yeerks had seen the Yoort, they may have learned that they could bioengineer a species for them to live inside and be symbiotic with as well."

            "Whoa," Rachel cut in sarcastically.  "Marco is using big words."

            I gave her a nasty look, smiled, and then continued.  "The way Ellimist and Crayak decided whether the Iskoort would live or not was that they both chose a team of seven people, and they had to fight.  Whoever destroyed the other team first won, and the all-powerful being they fought for got to do as he willed with the Iskoort.  Ellimist chose me, Big Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Bird-Boy over there, Ax, and Erek the-"

            "Shush!"  Cassie said.  "Their secret."

            "Yeah.  Erek, the guy who's completely normal," I said sheepishly.  Santorelli, Jeanne, Yahal, Menderash, Toby, and General Doubleday gave me very strange looks.  "And we didn't realize that this was _Kelbrid_ space before," I finished.  "So anyway, this is Guide, he led us around last time we were here."

            "Okay…" replied Jeanne.

            "Let's get this show on the road, shall we?"  I turned to Guide.  "So will you take us around again?"

            I suppose, replied Guide.  But would you first like to sell one of those beautiful blades on that person's elbow?  He was pointing at Toby.  People would pay much money for it.  They would pay even more for one of their blades on their tails though.  He had started eyeing Yahal and Ax.  Ax had stood up very stiffly, drawn up his tail so that the end was right over his left shoulder, and said, I would rather die than part with my tail blade.

            "Remember," Rachel said, "If you bother us too much to buy or sell things, we won't pay you."

            Guide became silent for a moment, but we were sure it would not last for long.

            "Right.  First we need a place to put Tom so he can rest.  He still has not woken up," Jake said.  "A soft bed, and things to take care of him and make sure the wound doesn't get infected."

            Alright.  This way, please.

            He started to walk off, and we followed him.  Jeanne, Jake, Rachel, and Cassie were carrying Tom as carefully as possible.  Everybody was glancing around as we followed Guide, trying to see everything about that crazy marketplace.  Yahal and Menderash were in a deep conversation, turning to ask Ax something every couple of minutes.  I could only presume that they were trying to understand the Yoort, and having Ax explain things to them.  I was arguing with Jake once again over whether Superman or Batman was stronger, when I heard something faintly.  That was strange, I thought, that should not be something you should here in a different galaxy.

            "Wait," I called out.  "Stop for a moment!"  Everybody stopped, and I looked around.  I could have sworn that I heard a human girl's voice calling for help.  There!  I saw a flash of long blonde hair.  I turned to Guide.  "Have there been any other humans besides us on this planet?"

            Not that I know of, but the Skrit Na bring every sort of alien that they have kidnapped here to sell.

            "I'll be right back.  I could have sworn that I saw something…"  I walked off with Jake, Cassie, Rachel, Tobias, and Ax staring off at me, confused.

            What?  Tobias asked, but I was already too far away.

            I continued walking toward the area where I thought I had seen and heard a human.  In the distance, I finally saw it.  There was a humanoid shape being dragged along by a rope held by a more aggressive looking Iskoort.  I ran toward it.  It came into focus, and I realized that what I was looking at was actually a girl, aged about eighteen, I guessed.  She had blonde hair hanging slightly past her shoulder, green eyes, pale skin, and she was actually shorter than me!  I thought she was quite beautiful.

            "Hey!"  I yelled.  "You there!  Where are you taking her?"

            The Iskoort turned around.  What do you want? he asked.

            I turned to the girl.  "Are you okay?" I asked, hoping she spoke English.  

            Fortunately, she did.  "Do I look okay?" she replied.  She had a strange accent, Minnesotan or something, her voice went up at the end of every sentence and her 'o' sounded funny. "I don't know who you are, or what you're doing here, but I just spent two months on a ship with some overgrown cockroaches, who didn't speak English by the way, and now I think I've been sold here as some sort of specimen on an alien planet, and you're asking me if I'm okay?!"  She sounded slightly hysterical. 

            I turned back to the Iskoort.  "What are you going to do with her?"

            I'm selling her body parts.  She was sold to me as an exotic animal by the Skrit Na, and now I will sell her.

            "Great," I muttered to myself, as the girl's eyes grew wide.  "I will give you…" I thought for a moment.  "I will give you all the hair off of the animal I will turn into for the girl."

            What animal? the Iskoort asked suspiciously.

            I sighed.  I really, really did not want to do this, but hey, the girl was not supposed to be on this planet on the first place; I was going to be her knight in shining armor.  I thought about that, and realized we were not supposed to be on this planet right now either.  I began my morph into a gorilla.  The Iskoort made even more wheezing noises than normal, and I took that for excitement as the black hair grew out of my skin.  The girl watched, entranced.

            "It's Marco," I heard her mutter, "It's really Marco the Animorph!"

            Yeah, I replied, It's me.

            Wonderful, said the Iskoort.  I like the fur.  But there would have to be more.  The girl is worth more.

            I thought.  What did I have that could give something up without killing me that would please the Iskoort?  Ah.  Of course.  I demorphed back to my normal handsome self and then started a new morph.  My nose bulged out into a long tube, and long, silky fur grew out of my body and hung down.  Wicked claws formed out of my fingers.  I felt my tongue narrow and lengthen as a sticky substance oozed onto it.  I had become the giant anteater.  

            Nice, he said, Very nice.  He grabbed the attention of one of his fellow passing aliens, and had them bring the same sort of shears they had used to get rid of Menderash's hair.  After a few moments, the anteater was bald, and then they had me remorph to gorilla.  It too soon became hairless.  It looked pitiful.  I demorphed again to my human body, and then motioned for the girl to come with me.  Obediently, she followed.  I guess she supposed that I was better than the aliens.  "Hi," I said, "I'm Marco."  I formally introduced myself.

            "I thought so," she said.  "I'm Sandra West."  We walked in silence for a few minutes.  I was waiting for her to explain how she had gotten here, and she wanted me to ask.  Finally, she broke the quiet.  "Where have you been?  After you disappeared six months ago, earth went into uproar.  They searched everywhere for you and Jake and Cassie.  They said that two of his students were gone too, and so was some army guy that helped you out during the last few battles, but no one paid much attention to them.  We were all looking for you.  We still are.  They refused to admit that you might be dead.  Are you dead?  Is this hell?  Did I go to hell?  It couldn't be heaven."

            "Long story," I began, "But to make it short, Ax was kidnapped by the Blade Ship, you know, the ship with the last surviving Yeerks on it?  And we went to go save him.  Cassie and General Doubleday followed us a few days later, although we did not expect them to.  Now what are you doing here?" 

            "I was in my backyard," she answered, "And I saw some lights in the sky.  It was the stereotypical alien kidnapping, and those giant cockroach things and some other creature that walked on four legs held me while we came here.  I guess they were trying to sell me.  Did you save Ax?" she asked with a note of concern in her voice.

            "Yeah, he's over where we're walking.  Right now we're on the run from a deranged pack of Andalite look-alikes and an evil all-powerful being, and we're kind of stranded here."

            "I don't think I want to know," she said.

            "Well, they're right up ahead there, but I'm just warning you, you're in for a nasty shock."

            "Why would I be in for a shock?" she asked innocently.

            Just as the words left her full lips, the group became recognizable, and Rachel looked directly at us.

            "Oh, my God.  That's Rachel Berenson, the dead Animorph, isn't it?" Sandra asked, turning pale.

            I nodded my head, and Sandra fell over in a dead faint.

A/N:  You don't think Sandra is going to be a Mary Sue, do you?  I really hope not, it's just that I feel bad for Marco, I always have!  He's the only human Animorph without a significant other, and he really needs one!  R/R, and let me know if you think that Sandra is too Mary-Sue-ish. Well, the little green men in my head say that I should probably go study for my chemistry test that's on my birthday now (that should be illegal, I don't think students should have to have tests in their hardest subjects on their birthdays…grrrr….) so I'll try and get the next chapter out soon!  Also, if somebody would like to beta read for me, please email me at MyLittlePony204@hotmail.com to let me know!  Bye!

~Ax


	22. Jake

Chapter 22

            "Umm…Jake?  We have a problem…" Marco called to me, standing about fifty feet away.

            "You mean worse than we have now?" I asked, annoyed, because my brother was laying down dying and we were stranded light years away from home.  "Where have you been?!  We need to get somewhere that Tom can lay down at.  He doesn't really need to rest, but I would think that he would want to because he's only DYING!" I exclaimed, sarcastically, as a stomped over to him.

            "No," he said, when I was about ten feet away, "Just look."  He motioned toward the ground near his feet.

            I looked, and stepped back a couple of feet.  I rubbed my eyes.  I blinked.  Laying there was a girl that looked about our age, maybe a big younger, with her eyes closed and her face pale.  "That's a human," I said stupidly.  "That is a human girl.  From earth."

            "That's right, genius, she says that she was kidnapped by some giant cockroach alien things who brought her here and sold her as an exotic animal.  I just bought her, because they were planning on chopping her up and selling her separate parts.  She was surprised enough to see me here, but as I brought her toward the group, she saw Rachel and recognized her…"

            "Great…"

            "Help lift her up," Marco ordered.

            I bent down and grabbed her legs, and slowly we started to walk back to the rest of the group.  "What's her name, anyway?"

            "Sandra West."

            "Okay," Cassie said as she caught sight of us and ran up, "Who is that?!"

            "Her name is Sandra," Marco volunteered.  "She was kidnapped by aliens and brought here to be sold.  Now we are going to make sure she gets back."

            "Life as an Animorph is just never easy, is it?" asked Cassie.

            "And you just figured that out?" asked Marco.

            Cassie rolled her eyes.  "Guide thinks he knows where he can bring us to rest.  Come on, let's go."

            The thirteen of us followed Guide, Marco holding Sandra and me, Jeanne, and Rachel carrying Tom.  On the way, Marco explained that he had thought he had heard a human voice calling for help, and thought he saw someone, and what had happened after he met Sandra.

            The giant cockroaches and other aliens in the same ship that she was talking about were probably Skrit Na raiders, Ax commented.  They have been known to kidnap people to sell, to perform medical operations on, and for their own reasons before.  Yahal and Menderash nodded their agreement.

            Guide turned to face us.  "In here," he said, "This is where you rested before."

            We walked inside, and Marco gently put down Sandra and I, Jeanne, and Rachel lifted down Tom.  Jeanne sat next to Tom.  Not long after, Sandra sat up and started to talk.  She opened her eyes, but they were not focused.

            "Haha, Dad, guess what?  I just had the funniest dream.  I dreamed that I was kidnapped by aliens and brought to another planet where I met Marco the Animorph!  And then he brought me to meet the rest of them, and Rachel the dead one was there!  It was really weird…  The Marco guy was really cute though…" She brought up her hands and rubbed her eyes.  Marco was grinning like he had just been told he won the lottery.  Her eyes finally focused on him.  "Oh, no, it wasn't a dream."  She went pale.  "I said all that out loud, didn't I?"

            Marco swooped down and sat next to her.  "It's okay, Sandra, Darling, I don't mind," he said with a leer.

            Sandra scooted away, but I noticed that she was smiling.  "Great," she said.  "Now do you mind telling me why Rachel is alive, and introducing me to all these people?"

            "Sure," Marco said.  "I'm Marco, and that's Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, Ax, Jeanne, Santorelli, General Doubleday, Toby, Yahal, Menderash, and the unconscious one is Tom."  He pointed at each one of us as he said our names.

            "Right…" Sandra said.  "Wait… That's Tom as in your brother?  Your _dead_ brother?"

            "Long story," volunteered Rachel.  "Basically, Jake, Marco, Tobias, Jeanne, Santorelli, and Menderash left to go save Ax, but left Cassie behind.  She went after them with Toby and the General, but they were hit by a meteor and sent back through time.  The landed on the day of the last battle of humans versus the Yeerks, and managed to get me and Tom and come back forward through time.  We picked up Ax a couple of days ago, and all of us hooked up.  So, yes, Tom and I are alive although you thought we were dead.  Do you get it?"

            "I think so…" replied Sandra.  She looked dazed.  "What happened to Tom?  Is he going to be okay?"

            "I hope so."  My voice cracked.  "He was hurt really badly when we were shot at by the Garatron-"

            "The Andalite-look-alikes,"  Marco cut in.

            "-And we just don't know."  I finished.

            "I'm really sorry," she said.

            Cassie stepped forward.  "If he gets enough rest, he should be fine.  What I'm really worried about is his head.  You said that he might have hit it when he fell.  It's bad that he's been out for so long."  She took my hand.  "We'll try though."

            Everybody was silent for a few moments, but the silence was finally broken by an excited screech from Jeanne.

            "He moved!" she said.  "His eye twitched, and he moved his head, and then he became still again."

            Cassie and I rushed to Tom's side.  Once again, weakly, his eyes fluttered.  Then, they opened.

            "Tom?"  I asked.  "Can you hear me?"

            His mouth moved, but no sound came out.  He tried to sit up, but Cassie and Jeanne held him down firmly.

            "Hey, Midget," Tom finally said.  "Why do you look so worried?"


	23. Cassie

Chapter 23

            "Why do I look worried?"  Jake asked.  "WHY do I look worried?  You've only been unconscious for over an hour, and had your chest sliced open, and we all thought you were going die!"  He was breathing heavily.

            "Sorry.  Man, you're not kidding about my chest being sliced open; this thing hurts like heck!"  Tom replied.  His face was white.  He laughed weakly.  "Don't worry, Midget.  I'll be fine."  He tried sitting up again.

            "Tom, no," I told him.  "You need to lie still, otherwise you might reopen the wound.  Don't try to move, you need to stay here for at least another two weeks."

            "Two weeks?"  Tom and Jake asked, alarmed, together.

            "Maybe more.  It depends on how Tom feels."

            "That's not fun… I want to stand up and move!"  Tom exclaimed.  He got very excited, and started to sit up again, but Jeanne held him down.  After a moment, he sat quietly again, exhausted by his efforts.

            "You should rest now, we don't want to tire you out too much," I said to him.

            "Alright," he responded, "But can you first tell me who that is and what she is doing here?"

            "This," Marco said proudly, "Is Sandra.  She was kidnapped by the Skrit Na and brought here.  She's going to hang out with us until we get back."

            "Okay… I'll ask when I'm not quite so tired.  Good night."

            He started to close his eyes, but Jeanne leaned over and whispered something in his ear, which made him smile.  A few minutes later, he was asleep.

            "I think he's going to be okay, if he rests," I said.  Jake's slow, rare smile illuminated the room.  I grinned back at him.

            Now that we're all settled and know that Tom is okay, at least for now, do you guys think Yahal could tell us about what happened when Elfangor and Mom met? Tobias asked.

            "Yeah," Rachel agreed, "I think that that would be interesting to hear."

            I nodded my agreement.

            About twenty-seven years ago, soon after my father Alloran-Semitur-Corass was dishonored for releasing the quantum virus on the Hork-Bajir home world, he was on the Dome Ship StarSword with the two _arisths_ Arbron and Elfangor.  I believe you know them.  Near the seventh planet of your system, a Skrit Na ship was found, which they boarded.  There was another Skrit Na ship, but it escaped to Zero Space.  On board the first one, they found two humans, named Loren and Chapman.  Loren had grabbed the beam weapon the captain of the ship had had, and Chapman was knocked out.  He soon revived, and after Arbron downloaded the files on the Skrit Na ship computer, Elfangor, Arbron, and the two humans came onto our Dome Ship.  Soon afterwards, the captain gave the assignment to my father and the two _arisths_ to return the humans to earth using the original _Jahar_.  It was a trip of many million miles, and it took a few days.  Arbron kept looking through the files of the Skrit Na ship, and two days into the trip, Arbron finally broke the code on one of the files, and discovered that the other ship had the time matrix, the greatest weapon ever created, on board.  The time matrix was thought to be a myth, just as its creator, the Ellimist, was, but there were pictures of it right in front of us.  The time matrix is a time ma-

            "We know what the time matrix is," Marco told him.  "We've seen it before."

            You have? asked Yahal, surprised.

            I bit my lip.  The time we found the time matrix was one of the times I was most ashamed of.  "Yes," I answered.  "Visser Four found the time matrix hidden on earth, and used it to go back in time and change many of the historical events in the history of humans in order to make us easier to conquer.  The result was terrible… I owned a slave.  Rachel was not even with us, it was her friend Melissa instead.  Jake was like some sort of junior Nazi.  Marco's mom was still with us, and he hated it.  Tobias was still basically the same.  Ax was oppressed, because no one would listen to him because he was an alien.  Our technology was fifty years behind where it should have been, and the Yeerks were within months of taking over.  Ellimist made it possible for us, the real us that we are now, to follow him in his time jumps.  We followed him into the battle of Agincourt, Washington crossing the Delaware, Einstein coming to Princeton, the battle of Trafalgar, and D-Day.  We eventually took the time matrix, and went back to the place where the host of Visser Four's parents met.  We made it so that they never did meet, therefore he was never born, and that timeline never happened."  A tear fell from my eye.

Yeah, Tobias said.  There was a silence.  Anyway, what were you saying about the computer files and the time matrix?

Yahal continued on, and in about two hours, told us the entire story of what had happened to Loren, Chapman, Elfangor, Arbron, Alloran, and Esplin 9466.

            They did love each other, didn't they? asked Tobias when Yahal had finished.

            "It sounds like it," commented Sandra.

            I was deep in thought.  The Ellimist had drastically changed the timeline and the lives of so many people.  Most personally, he had made Tobias grow up without a father.  I was angry that he could do what he did to so many people.  He had made Elfangor and Loren lose each other as well.  If he was so powerful, and capable of bringing people back from the dead as he did with Vice-Principal Chapman, then why did he not save Rachel?  I knew he could have; it would not have been too hard for him.  But we were just puppets, and him the puppet master, having us act out the scenes needed so he could win his millennia-long game with Crayak.  I felt a warm tear come to my eye for the pain we all went through because of her death, and Ellimist's refusal to relieve it.

            Time stopped.

            There he was, in his guise of a saintly old man.  "I could not save her, it was against the rules.  You would have felt it if I had anyway, and known that that was not the way the timeline should be.  You are an anomaly, Cassie.  While all other people can only see what is in their own timeline, a few like you can see small glimpses of others.  They only remember dreamlike memories of them, but it is more than anybody else."  The Ellimist's voice was large, and it sounded like it was coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

            I was quiet for a moment.  "You've explained this to me before.  I don't know when, or how, but you did."

            "Yes," he replied.  "I have.  In another timeline.  You see, you remember."

            "You still could have saved her.  I wouldn't have minded, had it saved the life of my best friend."

            "I came to her, you know.  Right before she died, in the other timeline, 'before' you saved her.  I could not save her, but I could give her the respect she deserved.  I told her who I am.  What I am.  It was only fair.  She knew that I could not save her.  And I told her what she wanted; she wanted to know whether she had made a difference or not, and I told her the truth, which was yes.  She died, but understood why.  She was immensely upset at dying when she was so young, with her entire life ahead of her, and her love of war gone, but she knew she had to, to save her life as she knew it.  To save the boy she loved.  It was noble of her, and I showed her respect for that.  I did not save her, but I caused her to understand."

            "Should she have died?" I asked.  "Was it right of me to bring her and Tom back?"

            "I cannot see the future," Ellimist replied.  "Therefore I do not know what consequences it will have.  I do know, however, that it was what was needed for your friends, and they are important.  They are key players in the fate of this universe, and they needed to live, which they would not have if you had not destroyed the Blade ship, and they needed to come back to reality, and they needed Rachel to do so.  The six of your fates are entwined for all time; five of you are not whole without the sixth.  What you did may not have been good, but it was needed."

            At the last few words, people started moving again, and Ellimist disappeared.  I sat there, lost in thought.

            "Cassie?"  Toby's voice brought me back to reality.

            "Oh.  Yes?" I asked, feeling stupid.

            "We just asked what size of a ship you thought we should get, so that ten humans, one Hork-Bajir, two Andalites, and one hawk could live there for a few months comfortably.  We also need to know how much food we should get."

            I answered her, and Guide brought Toby, General Doubleday, Menderash, Yahal, and Santorelli to find our supplies.  Meanwhile, Jake, Tobias, Rachel, Ax, Marco, and I stayed back to discuss what to do to get back home without being shot out of the sky by the Garatron.  Sandra, Jeanne, and Tom also stayed back so that Tom could rest, Jeanne could take care of him, and I guess Sandra stayed because she knew the most about the six of us through interviews, news stories, etc. and therefore felt the most comfortable around us.

            "Alright, O Fearless Leader, what do we do?" asked Marco with a smirk.

            Jake put his head in his hands and rubbed his temples.  "The Garatron and the One have probably followed us here, right?  So we need to take off without their knowledge, before they can find us.  They'll figure it out that we're gone soon enough, but maybe we can get away with enough distance to stay safe.  If not, we can hide on various planets like we are now.  There will be some other safe planets on the way back to earth, right?" Jake asked Ax.

            Yes, we will pass the Andalite homeworld, the Leeran homeworld, and the Hork-Bajir homeworld, as well as a few other ones.  Another possibility is to hide in Z-space.

            Jake nodded his understanding.  "Well, people, it's been a long day, and the sun is setting here.  I vote we hit the sacks until morning, and then we can think on this some more.  We leave for earth as soon as Tom is well enough.  Menderash, Santorelli, and the others should be getting here soon.  I'll take the first watch."  

The rest of us voiced our agreement.  We all became busy trying to find the softest piece of ground to sleep on and curling up to sleep.  I was tired, but after a few moments of lying there with my eyes closed, I realized that sleep was just not going to come to me tonight.  I opened my eyes and sat up.  I stifled a giggle as I saw Marco leaning in close to the sleeping form of Sandra and staring at her.  He obviously liked her.  I scooted over to Jake, who was looking out at the quieter city than before, although it was still very busy.

"Hey," I said with a shy grin.  

He jumped, and turned around.  One of his slow, wonderful smiles crept across his face.  "You scared me," he said with a laugh.  It was the first real laugh I had heard from him ever since that final battle.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," I laughed.

"It's okay, I guess I'm just a little high-strung right now…"  His voice trailed off.

"A penny for your thoughts," I said to him.

He sighed, and he sounded tired.  "I just don't know how we are going to get home," he said to me.  "The One is bad news.  He seems to know everything, and he's so powerful…"

"You faced Crayak and stood up to him before," I encouraged him.  "And how is one evil all-powerful being really different from another?"

He looked into my eyes.  "Thank you, Cassie," he said.  "I really could not have made it this far without you."  He paused for a moment, and then leaned in and kissed me gently.  It only lasted a moment, but I felt my cheeks turn hot, butterflies rise in my stomach, and an overwhelming feeling of happiness inside.  "Our first kiss was here," he said softly.

"Yes," I said, "It was."  I looked at him, trying to see where this was leading.

"Years ago, I bought something because it reminded me of you.  It wasn't much, but I kept it with me everywhere I went as some sort of good-luck charm.  However, now, I would like you to have it."  He kneeled down on one knee, reached into the pocket of his jeans, and pulled out a small, metallic looking thing.  When I looked closer, I saw that it was a cheap pewter ring with a little engraved horse on it.  He held it up to me.  "Cassie," he said, "Will you marry me?"

My jaw dropped.  I loved Jake, but I really had not been expecting this.  "I-"

"I know it's not much of a ring," he interrupted me, "But it really is the only thing I have to give as one right now.  I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's not that, but-  Jake, you're sure you're better?  You're going to be okay?"  I blurted out.

He grinned again.  "Cassie, I have never felt better in my entire life.  The two people I thought were dead are not, my brother is going to be alright, as long as he gets enough rest, and I think we may actually make it home, if the Garatron do not kill us first.  Not to mention the fact that I just asked to woman of my dreams to marry me."

The woman of his dreams.  Was _I_ dreaming?  I pinched myself, believing this too good to be true.  I guess I pinched a bit too hard, because it hurt quite badly and the place on my arm turned angry and red.  "It's not a dream," I whispered.  "It really isn't a dream."

Jake looked at me, his eyes hopeful.  "No," he replied.  "It's not a dream."

I looked down at him, and smiled.  "Yes," I finally answered.  "Yes, I will.  I love you, Jake Berenson."

His face lighted up like a firecracker on the Fourth of July.  "I love you too, Cassie."  He slipped the tiny ring with the horse engraved into it onto my ring finger.

I kissed him, this time.

A/N: I have decided to make this a trilogy, like books 20, 21, and 22 were, because my story is just sooo long, and I am trying to stay true to KAA's form of writing, and she tended not to have more than 25 chapters in a book (I'm not doing very well at staying in her form, but believe me, I AM trying!!!)  Anyway, all of you need to R/R, and tell me your favorite parts and why, because that would just make me sooooo happy ^_^ .  In addition, I NEED A BETA READER!!!!!  If you are interested, please email me at MyLittlePony204@hotmail.com.  I would most appreciate it.  Anyway, there will probably be one more chapter to this book, and then I will start on the sequel, yclept (lol, that means called for all you people that don't know… We learned it in our vocabulary books, a couple of days ago, and our teacher tells us to use them in normal, every-day things to get them to be a firm part of our vocabulary, so I'm going to use it just to sound like I'm smart and to confuse you!) #56: The Carried.  Also, just like KAA *smiles maniacally, because she's copying her role model to the smallest detail *, I will add a chapter from the next book to the end of this series, just to give you guys an idea about what it's going to be about!!!  Methinks you guys will like it *smiles mysteriously, because I know something you don't! *.  Yeah.  Now, fill in that magic box at the bottom of this page, even if it is just to make my computer burn in flames when I read what you wrote.  J/C and R/T forever!!!!!


	24. Ax

Chapter 24

            I had been laying down, as an Andalite does, of course, with my main eyes closed but my stalk eyes open.  Ever since I had been released from being a prisoner of the One, I had been slightly withdrawn.  It had been a horrible experience, thinking I would never become free again, and that my being trapped might lead my friends to the same fate.  Since I returned, I had spoken a bit with Tobias in private thoughtspeak, told everyone all that I knew about the One, and offered some other small bits of advice or opinions, but for the most part, I had stayed aloof.  I had always felt somewhat apart from the rest of the Animorphs because I was the only alien, but we had grown closer over the three years of fighting.  Towards the end, I felt almost like one of them, but after the war ended and I became a prince and each Animorph went their own separate way, we grew apart again.  True, Tobias was and always would be my _shorm_, but he disappeared and talked only occasionally to Cassie and Toby.  However, I decided that if I wanted to renew my friendship with my old comrades in arms and get over the trauma of being absorbed by the One, the best time to start was now.

            I had overheard Jake and Cassie's late night conversation, but I did not truly know what marriage meant.  I knew that it meant that the two people involved then lived together and sometimes reproduced, for that aspect of marriage is common among many species around the Milky Way, including Andalites.  However, I did not know the human parts to it.  I noticed that Marco was still awake, although farther from Jake and Cassie than I was.  Quietly, so that I would not disturb any of the sleeping people, I moved over to where Marco lay.

            Marco, I said.

            He rolled over to look at me, an annoyed look on his face.  "Yeah?  I was admiring the view!  She looks really pretty when she's asleep, doesn't she?" he asked, gesturing at Sandra.  "Anyway, what?"

            I was just curious, what does 'marriage' mean in human terms?

            "Well, it basically means that you and the person you love have a big ceremony, and all your friends and family come, and you're pronounced man and wife, and then you go and live together, maybe have kids, and hopefully live together happily for the rest of your lives, I guess.  Why?"

            No reason, it's just that I heard Jake ask Cassie if she would marry him, I replied, truthfully.

            Marco let out a loud guffaw, which he quickly concealed as a hacking cough when Cassie turned around, looking for the source of the sound.  When she had gone back to her own little world with Jake, Marco started to speak.  "It's about time," he said.  "This would have happened a long time ago, if Jake hadn't been so pigheaded."

            I was starting to be very confused.  So is this good, or is it bad? I asked.

            Marco laughed again, but this time quietly.  "It's good, Ax-man.  Very, very good."

            Ah, I said.  Should we wake up Tobias and Rachel and tell them, then?

            "No, don't worry, Rachel will find out soon enough, and we can wait to tell Tobias until morning."

            As we were discussing this, the people who had gone with Guide finally came back with good news.

            We have a ship, as well as enough supplies to last us for six months, now, Yahal announced in open thoughtspeak.

            "Each one of us sold our memories in order to get it all," expanded Menderash.

            "The ship is a real beauty," commented General Doubleday. 

"They said that some alien merchants found the ship dead in space only about a week ago, and brought it here to sell.  We gave it a quick check over, and there's nothing wrong with it, so we bought it," added Santorelli.

            Jake, who had come out of his conversation with Cassie, said, "That's great.  Are the supplies on her yet?"

            "Yes, we had some workers load them on board," said Toby.

            "Alright, so we can head home as soon as Tom gets better," Jake exclaimed excitedly.

            Just then, a bright beam of light shot through the sky, illuminating the sky next to Santorelli before ten Garatron, led by the ones I recognized Barvaritun Larumian Hartar and the one absorbed by the One, descended upon us.

            "Battle morphs, everyone!" Jake roared, already turning orange with black striping down his sides.  As I watched, Marco sprouted shaggy black hair on his shoulders and back, and a long trunk rolled down from Rachel's face.  Tobias rose up into the air as sharp canine teeth formed in Cassie's mouth.  Jeanne took one last frantic look at Tom, then turned tan and brown spots appeared all over her body as she became a leopard.  A horn grew from Santorelli's nose as his face became bony and thick and his DNA changed to that of a rhinoceros.  I heard a shriek from Sandra and saw General Doubleday and Menderash back towards her and Tom because they knew they would be of no help without morphing power.  Yahal, Toby, and I stepped forward and began to slash with our various blades, and Tobias flapped his wings and rose off of the ground.  However, my lightning-quick speed that usually took an enemy down within seconds was not working this time.

            They're too fast! Yahal moaned.  It was true.  The Garatron were circling us, running faster and faster around and whipping their tails with the sharp blades at the end in toward us.  Slowly, the eight of us fighting on the ground were being herded into a small circular area.  None of us could even hit the quick Garatron.  Standing still about five earth feet away was Captain Barvaritun Larumian Hartar.  Suddenly, something plummeted out of the sky.

            "Tseeeeeeeeeeer!" a hawk screamed.

            Ahhhh! Captain Barvaritun Larumian Hartar yelled as his stalk eyes were ripped open.  The other Garatron stopped at the noise, including the one that was absorbed by the One.

            Run! Jake commanded.  While Tobias dived at the various aliens, shredding their stalk eyes, Rachel lifted the still sleeping form of Tom onto her back, and the rest of us ran for our lives.  Tobias! Jake called.  Give us enough time to get lost in the Iskoort, and then follow us.  You will be able to find us.  Menderash, where is our ship?  We will lift off as soon as Tobias meets us.

            For the next half of an earth hour, we ran as fast as we could toward the ship.  During that time, I noticed Sandra starting to lag behind, and Marco stopped.  She said something to him, and he looked very concerned.  You guys wait, he called out.  She has asthma.  She still has her inhaler with her, though.  We'll catch up to you with Tobias.  Jake protested at first, but then gave in when he saw her chest heaving as she tried to suck in air.

            We finally made it to the ship, and we all hurried inside.  Rachel gently took Tom off of her back and onto the floor, and then Prince Jake and Jeanne, who had demorphed, picked him up and brought him into the first cabin with soft padding they could find.  Not long afterwards, Tobias, Marco, and Sandra, who was breathing much more easily, came in.  

            "Alright," Jake said to Menderash.  "What sort of ship is this?"

            "The controls are actually quite strange; I have never seen anything like them."

            It is the same with me; I do not recognize them either, said Yahal.

            "However, we are quite certain that we will be able to discover how to control the ship; we believe it works with thoughtspeak.  The ship is very strange though…"

            "Okay, Ax, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias, you come with me to look at the rest of the ship.  Marco, you stay here and learn to work the computers with Menderash and Yahal; you're the best with computers.  The rest of you can stay here, or do whatever."

            We followed Jake deeper into the starship, learning where everything was.

            "Ax, where did Menderash and Yahal say this ship was found?"  Like me, Jake had noticed the strange amount of dust lying over everything.  In some places, it was four inches thick.  Although all of the instruments and materials in the ship looked like they were close to the standards of older Andalite ships, they all looked ancient.

            They said that it was found dead in space, I believe.

            "Ah.  Well, I think that this ship has been dead in space for a long time then."

            I nodded my agreement.

            We continued looking through the ship, and found the galley, more cabins, the escape pods, the engine room, and finally, the storage rooms.  The first thing we noticed when we walked in was the cold temperature.  I noticed small bumps rise on my friends' arms.

            "Why is it so cold?" asked Rachel.

            I don't know, I replied.  Then, with my main eyes, I spotted it.  On the far side of the large storage room were several large tanks with some sort of vapor surrounding them.  When I took a closer look, I saw what was inside the cages: each one contained a brightly colored, flattish creature with hundreds of eyes.  I realized that the animals must have been cryogenically frozen.  Look over there, I commanded, pointing at the tanks.  One by one, they all looked.

            "What are those?" questioned Cassie.

            I could not tell myself, but then Tobias spoke.  Wow, he said.  Human eyes really are weak.  Can't you tell what they are?  They're Mercora.

To be continued in the next book, The Carried…

A/N:  Like it?  Well, that was el finalmente (Wow… I can speak Spanish!  That was Spanish for "the final," but I'll bet you knew that…) chapter, but the first chapter for the second story of this trilogy should be up soon!  It's called The Carried, and it should be good.  It will continue right where this left off.  Anyway, in the tradition of KAA's stories, here is the sample chapter to the next story!  ** Note: This may change a bit by the time I post it in the other story **

#56 – The Carried

            Sixty-five million years ago, the sun of our home planet was drawn into a black hole and destroyed, destroying our planet.  We managed to escape, but I do not know if any other Murkra were able to.  For thirty generations now, we have unfrozen ourselves for one year every one hundred years, waiting for the time when we would find a planet suitable to our needs.  We have never found one, so we remain frozen for most of the time. said the leader of the Mercora, or Murkra as they seemed to call themselves.

            "Hmm," I said.  "So it seems that we stole your ship."

            "Quiet, Marco," Jake warned.

            "What?" I asked.  "It's only fair that we give it back."

            Rachel looked at me, already realizing that there must be more to what I was saying than I was letting on.  "Why would we give it back, Marco?"

            "It would be good manners!" I exclaimed, not wanting the Mercora to hear.  "My mommy always told me to mind my P's and Q's.  I'm a good little boy!"

            Rachel rolled her eyes, and Sandra laughed.  She had a beautiful laugh, musical and light-hearted, but still loud and hearty; she was not afraid to show that she appreciated a good joke.  Unlike some other people, such as Rachel.  I gave a snort of disgust.

            We would be willing to take you to your planet, as long as we can have our ship back afterwards, the leader said.

            "Well, sure, we woul-" Jake started to say, but I cut him off.

            "NO!  I mean, thank you very much, but I'm sure we could make it back by ourselves," I blurted out.

            Jake gave me a very strange and searching look, but Tobias fluttered his wings and privately told me that her understood.  Then, he spoke to all of us, not including the Mercora.

            We cannot allow the Mercora to see earth, because if that other colony liked it sixty-five million years ago liked it, and there are still some areas with the same climate and types of plants as there were then, of which there are, then they may want to stay.  And I know that some humans will not be very partial to that.  And in case you haven't noticed, but they have some serious weaponry here, unlike our other buddies that died sixty-five million years ago.  Humans were already nearly wiped out by the Yeerks, and we don't need the same to happen because of the Mercora.  
            Jake, Cassie, Rachel, Ax, Sandra, Tom, Santorelli, Jeanne, Yahal, Menderash, General Doubleday, and Toby stared at him.

            Act normal, Tobias said.  They can't know.

            Suddenly, the ground below our feet shook, and things started falling off the walls.  Looking at the view port, I saw the Garatron ship.

            "Oh, man!" I complained.  "I am really getting sick of those guys.  They just don't know when to hold their fire!"

            Captain Barvaritun Larumian Hartar's ugly face filled the communications screen.  As soon as he saw the Mercora leader standing with us, his face twisted an expression of pure hatred.  Murkra, he said in a low, menacing voice.

            The leader had taken on a similar expression, although it was hard to tell because of his strange feature.  Garatron, he said equally menacing.

            Blowthemoutoftheair! Baravaritun Larumian Hartar ordered.  IwantridoftheseMurkraonceandforall.

            There was another blast, and we hurtled toward another unknown planet.


	25. Thank-yous to all of my lovely reviewers...

Okay, this is nothing but a big long thank you note, but I just wanted to *finally * thank all of my lovely reviewers who I love to death, especially those who kept reading it, added me to their favorites, and reviewed more than once.  And those who have been keeping up with this fic's sequel, The Carried, I thank you too.  Now, here is the big long list:

Lenalaye:  Thank you, you were my first reviewer!  It meant so much to me.  Thank you.

Lydia:  Even though it was anonymous, thank you, it meant a lot.

SouthernBelle14: Thank you, and I'm a big R/T fan as well.  R/T and J/C belong together, no matter what anybody says.

BatmanBeyond316: Thank you for the great review!

Bel:  Thanks!

Angelofcloud9:  Well, you got what you wished, Rachel came back and Tobias, Jake, and Marco did not die!  Thank you so much for sticking with the fic and its sequel for so long.  And thank you for coming to me for advice about your own fics.

Laura-Grace:  Thanks!  And thank you for wishing me luck!  I needed it at times.

THE Animorphimaniac:  Thank you for the most enthusiastic review I had up to that point.  It meant so much.

Clau:  Thank you for being the best-mannered reviewer!  It made me happy. ^_^

Shawna/Ami of Destiny:  Thank you, you are one of my most loyal fans.  You have come onto AIM so many times to encourage me; I still remember the first thing you said the first time you IMed me: "I LOVE YOUR FIC THE CONTACT!!!!!!"  It has meant a lot to me.  Your reviews made me laugh, too, when Marco and Rachel would come in to talk to you. I still say that Marco is MINE though!  Now suck up to your parents, and maybe they will let you back onto AIM after cussing out Joey…

Emily/Anifan1:  Besides being so pushy about Tom and warning me on AIM after I let him get hurt, you have been a great friend and given me many ideas.  Thank you.

Lynn/Rasberry Girl:  Yes, I agree with you.  J/C belong together for forever!

PinkJem:  I agree, the series did need a happy ending.  Thank you for reviewing.

Echoes of the Mind:  Thank you so much for continuing to read my story, all the way through chapter seven on The Carried, where I am now.  You even continued after you forgot about it, but was reminded by my email.  It meant a lot, and I really appreciate it.

Anime Viper:  Thank you, I am very proud of this story and its sequel.

WUZZUP GIRL:  Thank you!  I was very happy with how it turned out.

Nicole:  Thank you, you have never been signed in when you have reviewed, but I really appreciate the wonderful reviews you have given all throughout both stories.

Jesse:  Thank you, your review was very flattering.  I tried to write like KAA and I guess I succeeded, due to your and other people's reviews.  That she would take ideas from me, I do not know, but it would be great it she did.  Thank you.

Lilly:  I do not think that I am better than KAA, but thank you so much for thinking so!

Seven Stones:  I did write more, just as you asked.  I do not plan on leaving this trilogy unfinished.  Thank you.

Elfangor19:  All of your reviews meant so much, thank you.

Katelyn/Trampling Rose/*Mystery*Juice*2302*:  Thank you for the, uh, lovely reviews Katelyn.  I got a laugh out of them.

Jayrae:  Thank you!

Taylor Marin:  Thank you for all of your enthusiastic reviews!  I loved them!

Amber:  Thank you, I really appreciated your view.  I was so proud of thinking of a _Sario Rip_, because I do not think that anybody else did that.  Thank you for the flattering reviews, and telling me that you thought that I was able to bring everything together.

Vy/~*The Wandering Blue Andalite*~:  Thank you for reading this after I asked you to, I have really appreciated all of your reviews and chatting with you online.  You have helped me so much with getting my butt moving and working on this fic.

Morpherkidvb:  Thank you so much for all of your ideas and reviews, and thank you for having me on your favorites list.  It means a lot.

Moi:  Thank you, and I did add more, so that makes me, and hopefully you, happy. Thank you!

Spunkie-girl:  Thank you for continuing to read all through this story and the sequel!  It has meant a lot.

SoWeirdFreak:  I know, there is a lot of characters, but they were all important at one point, so I needed them!  And I like Sandra too, I think that she and Marco belong together. ^_^

Electric Polar Bear:  Thank you, I personally loved the ending as well!  Thank you so much for considering my fic incredible.

Angel SailorM:  Thank you, we seem to share many of the same ideas.  Well, I'm sorry I spoiled the last few books for you, but like you said, it was your own fault!  LOL!  Thank you so much!

Shorlixa:  Thank you, I am so proud of this fic.

CYBER HAWK:  Thank you so much for the encouragement!

Ax's Girl/Ctarsis/CnalinTre:  Strange about another Sandra ending up with Marco…  Oh, well, what I did was original, I swear!  Well, thank you for such a long review, even if you did think that you were rambling, it meant a lot.  I love the plot too!  Thanks!

Alexia Goddess:  Thank you so much for reviewing before you meant to, it means so much.  You were the latest reviewer, and I have no idea how you came upon my story, but thank you for such an enthusiastic and flattering review.  I hope you liked the rest of the story.

Well, thank you to all of the people who reviewed, I love you all.  *Ax hands out Pocky and Yan-Yan to all of her lovely, lovely reviewers.*  Thank you, I do not think I would have continued past the fifteenth chapter if it were not for you.  Thanks!!!!!!!!

~Ax


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